


All it took was one bite

by aokochan17



Category: Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: Adopted Philip, Alternate Universe - Vampire, Cabinet Meetings (Hamilton), Fluff and Angst, Help, Human/Vampire Relationship, M/M, My First Fanfic, With A Twist, but for LAMS of course, but no spoilers until then, but was necessary, hunter!Thomas (why did this tag disappear?), i have seen so many of these but am still unsure how to tag properly, i will add more tags as the story proceeds, jeffmads - Freeform, more characters and relationships will be added as well of course, the jeffmads vampire au that no one asked for, vampire!James
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-18
Updated: 2020-05-06
Packaged: 2021-02-28 07:00:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 27,630
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22779853
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aokochan17/pseuds/aokochan17
Summary: Thomas Jefferson has been sitting behind a desk for a long time now, while all his other friends were out hunting for vampires. All he ever wanted was a chance to prove that he is capable of more.... and to take revenge for what he once lost.And that very chance appears in the form of James Madison, one of the higher ranking vampires in the country. As Thomas is sent on an undercover mission to gather information about the vampire nobility for the hunters when the famous vampire loses his butler, he is determined that he will finally get what he has been waiting for. But what happens when instead of finding all the cruel things that were thought to him, he discovers a completely different side of vampires? And as time passes and he learns more about his new master... develops feelings for the creature he was supposed to hate?This is not one of those fluff filled romantic vampire stories, I promise!P.S.: I suck at summaries, so please give this a chance if you are a Jeffmads fan and would like to see a vampire au with our lovely couple :)
Relationships: Alexander Hamilton/John Laurens, Thomas Jefferson/James Madison
Comments: 65
Kudos: 45





	1. First impressions are always important

**Author's Note:**

> Hi Everyone!  
> This is my first fanfic, oh my god! OK, that's not completely true. I used to have a profile on fanfiction.net, but I wrote my last story there AGES ago (plus cannot log on anymore, ooops), so yeah... let's consider this a fresh start!  
> I was originally intending this story to be a one-shot, but as I started to type this thing down, the ideas just kept flowing into my head and now, we are at the the first chapter of this crazy roller-coaster called multi-chapter story, yay~  
> Oh and in case you haven't seen the tags: of course more of our lovely Hamilton crew is coming later on. What would a Hamilton fanfiction be without the Hamilsquad? Or Hamilton annoying the hell out of Jefferson? And most importantly: everyone's favourite fighting Frenchman~ ?  
> English is not my first language, but I have been living in the UK for over 5 years now, so I hope my English is sufficient for something exciting!  
> I'm not sure whether this story will actually be liked/picked up, but I really appreciate all support and feedback. And don't forget to leave kudos if you can, please <3 
> 
> With all this babble out of the way, enjoy!

_“Don’t forget Thomas, you only have one chance.”_

_“Just one small mistake and we will find your dead body in a dark alley instead of meeting up for that beer you promised. So just… believe in yourself, ok? This is your chance to prove them all wrong. You have so much more in you than they say.”_

_“Come out of this alive and you will be a hero.”_

_“We are counting on you.”_

_“Easy. It’s a to kill or be killed mission. Don’t you dare mess this up.”_

Like he would ever hesitate to kill a vampire. He just needed to be patient enough to get enough information out of him first.

~~~

A young male was walking through the corridor, guided by an older, taller man. Despite his smaller size though, the younger radiated confidence and it was clear that the other one was afraid of him. He tried to entertain the younger male with his words on their way, but only received disapproving looks, huffs or no response at all. He was not someone for small talk for sure.

“I can guarantee you, we have the best of the slaves you could ever wish for! They are all very obedient and are a sight too look at. Your guests will die from envy, sir, just by looking at them.” the older male was oozing words, but the fake sugar overloaded in his voice almost made the younger one throw up on the spot. It was a miracle he hasn’t caught diabetes from any of these visits before. Oh wait, he was a vampire, that’s why.

“I told you before, I am only looking for one servant. A butler to be more exact.” Servant and not slave. He did not like to think of them any less just because they were not at their immortal level. Just because almost all other vampires liked to treat them as slaves.

“Oh, right. We heard what happened to Mr Jennings. I am sorry for your loss, sir.” was the response as his guide looked at him with sad eyes. But the young male knew it was all just an act. Humans were just sacrificable objects to all vampires. It didn’t matter if one of them died of old age or if they were killed in a fight. Or basically die of any cause. They were easy to replace is what they kept telling him.

“Look, I’m not here for your pity. I only came here to see what you have to offer. Your sweet talk is not going to change my mind if all you have to offer is mindless slaves.” he snarled before passing by the guide to reach the heavy metal doors at the end of the corridor. And without waiting for the other man’s help, he slammed the doors open himself, the doors giving way with a loud squeak. Despite their strength, it only took him a mere second to slam them open and observe the sight beyond.

There was a high and wide platform at the end of the room with several chairs in front of it, probably to hold the auctions that took place in the room on other days. Today, however, the young vampire was the only attendant to be amused, so all the chairs lied empty and it was only the platform that was busy with life. There were several humans on their knees with their heads bowed, all awaiting patiently to be judged by the high-ranking vampire, hoping to be worthy enough for his tastes. Who was this vampire you ask?

James Madison. The oldest son of James Madison Sr and Nelly Conway Madison, one of the most influential and noble families in the vampire world. Pure vampires, whose blood had never been stained by any other breeds before. James Madison Sr was involved in crucial political decisions and was the proud owner of large lands over the country. The old vampire was aiming for his son to follow in his shoes one day, which meant that James has inevitably inherited the obligations, influence and power coming with his family’s name. Even with his young age, all of the vampires knew not to try and test his patience, otherwise they were destined to face a painful death.

Upon his entry, some of the humans looked up, curious to see who arrived to the room, but were rewarded with a loud slam to the head and a heavy “Behave!” command. Definitely not something James liked or wanted to see. But this was the show all other high-ranking vampires required, so he needed to regain his composure and walk to the platform with a neutral face.

“Mr Madison, sir!” came an older man’s voice as the young vampire stepped onto the platform. He extended his hand to offer some help, but James regarded him with a grunt and just kept walking forwards.

He assessed the humans as he passed by them slowly, all guarded by a vampire behind. If any was to misbehave, they were to be faced with inevitable pain. James was familiar with the ways these humans were trained and was surprised they were still actually capable of following orders. Comprehend the world around them. Their eyes were dead, already broken by the vampire lords holding them in their claws. Destined to be sold and serve as a mindless beings or a living taps of blood.

And then, there were the two humans whose sole job was to hold the two ends of the long chain that was joining the cuffs on the servants-to-be-s together. James had to admit, it was a clever idea to stand two humans as “guards” for this. If they were to try and set their friends free, he heard the consequences were brutal as they needed to watch helpless while their slave friends were being tormented. They called it a “test of obedience”. If they managed to hold still for at least 10 auctions like this, they were fit to be among the ones on offer to be sold the following case.

James did not care much about any of these humans though. He was only here because his father ordered him so and because his mansion started to fall apart without a proper leader between the servants. How could a mindless zombie like these humans on their knees change that?

He stopped at a young male, who could not have been older than 20, with visible ribs and a shaking body. He raised his hand to his chin and lifted his head so he could properly look into his eyes. Fear. Hopelessness. Which was followed by an audible gulp. What was his father thinking?Paul was the perfect butler. There was no way a shaking leaf, better off on the streets could replace what was lost. And with that, he let the young male’s chin go and stepped back with a sigh.

It wasn’t until he lifted his gaze beyond the row of humans below him that he noticed _him_. His form immediately caught James’ eyes. His clothes were quite ragged, but it looked more as if someone deliberately destroyed the precious material rather than ages of wearing them. There were clear tear marks and missing pieces hanging from his shirt and the blue of his jeans was now closer to a greyish colour at the knees with the material ripped rather than worn. He was most likely forced to his knees a lot before.

He was taller than the vampire himself by at least a feet and had a slimmer shape. He did not have too much muscle on him though compared to the vampire, but his gorgeous brown eyes were lit by a fire of determination. Not fear. Not despair. Not hope. Not anything like all the other fragile humans’ around the room. This young man looked like someone who would not hesitate to kill anyone on the spot. And his features were just… gorgeous. James definitely could see himself enjoying a few nights with the man himself. Even with the purple bruise on his left cheek and the evident black eye above said bruise, he was someone to gain people’s attention. And it only took a few more moments for James to realise just how much more attention the young male could raise with not just his look only, but actions as well.

“So, Mr Madison? Is there anyone you fancy?” came to curious voice of his guide from before. He completely forgot about him. Oh, he wanted to just smash him into the wall and squeeze his throat until he was begging for his life… Wait a minute, this might have been the excuse he had been waiting for a while! And with that thought in mind, he lifted his hand and without any hesitation slit the throat of the tall vampire without as much as a glance towards him. Or a regret in his eyes. Some of the humans on the stage nearby screamed and tried to shift away from the lifeless body that fell to the ground with a loud thud, slowly bleeding out, staining the previously perfect wood red.

James shook his hand as if to get rid of part of the blood, but in the end realised it’s not going to work and instead turned his attention towards the older male at the middle of the stage, who was obviously the lord of this place. The leader of all this mess.

“I asked for a butler and not a slave, Mr Thornhill! How the hell do you expect me to choose from any of these humans here? I’m surprised they are not dead already. Do you even have the slightest idea what breaking a human into obligation means? Because I think you overstepped your limits by a whole load of unfairness and viciousness. If it wasn’t for your stupid hunger and sex-crazed servants who keep hurting these young beings, I am sure you would have already found yourself on the other end of their wrath. But how would you know with you constantly hiding in your fancy room with a dozen other humans, feeding off their blood and fear until their body just breaks under you, leaving all the dirty work to your dogs in the meantime? I bet you only come out of your hole to lead these auctions and so don’t see the difference between your so called slutty slaves and the ones aligned here for a similar fate. But let me tell you one thing. A butler needs a mind to lead. But how would you know that as you yourself are clearly missing yours.” was the gruff response of James as he crossed his arms and looked at the lord with a gaze that clearly showed that he would not hesitate to kill him on the spot as well.

And there it was. Small and barely audible, but still clear giggle from the background. And as he turned his head towards the sound, he realised it was the young human male from before. With the puffy hair and that gorgeous body. “I told him the same thing!”

Interesting. A human who, despite the obvious threat in the air was still brave enough to speak his mind.

“What’s your name?”

“Oh, you would like to know that, wouldn’t you~?”

“Careful with your words, Thomas. Or do you want another beating?” growled the dealer towards the young male, who seemed unfazed by the words and instead just looked at said vampire with a smug expression. At least now James knew his name.

“And why would that be? Mr Fancy Butt is clearly on my side with this. Is that not correct?”

“That’s enough!” and with one snap of the finger from Mr Thornhill, the vampire near Thomas moved to hold him down, but instead ended up in a death grip by the throat himself and his arm twisted behind his back in an abnormal angle.

“Why such anger again? Have I not showed you before that I have the upper hand? Or are you still mad that you couldn’t take your sexual frustrations out on me, darling~ ?” he cooed as he leaned dangerously close to the vampire’s face. Who, as a a response did try and bite him, but Thomas was fast enough to lean back and make it impossible for the vampire to reach him. “You know, if you fed them with proper blood once in a while, they might not have so much pent-up frustration inside them. The ones who actually need to learn how to behave here are these bastards and not us.” he commented with a bored expression as he turned towards the dealer, the other vampire still squirming in his arms.

James was speechless. Not only did the human manage to hold a stronger being than himself in place, but also bad-mouthed the man who was holding his life in his hands without any hesitation in his eyes. But that explained the bruising and the black-eye… and James did not want to imagine what other ways they had been trying to break the human before. Despite all that, he still seemed as someone who had the upper hand. And that was exactly what James was looking for.

“I must correct myself. You do have one suitable one left.” he noted with an amused expression. “How much?”

The dealer was shocked to say the least and immediately pointed a finger towards Thomas with a scowl on his face. “He is not for sale. The motherfucker just signed his death wish. He is an abomination to the name of slaves and should never have—-“

The vampire’s words were stopped by a punch to the face. Delivered by the so called abomination himself. Who threw his previous hostage off the stage with such force James was sure he heard a crack and the vampire remained unconscious as he was lying on the ground. And now he was standing beside the dealer with such confidence and pride that James questioned how they managed to catch this human at the first place.

The dealer was less than amused, however and he was already raising his fist to counter-attack the punch he received. The punch which broke his nose and was now bleeding profusely. For a human, Thomas did have remarkable strength. “You son of a—-“

Before he could land the punch though, a hand grabbed his wrist from the side, stopping his movement. Thomas was just standing there with unvarying smugness, like as if he predicted that James was going to stop the dealer from hitting him. “That’s enough.”

“But Mr Madison!”

“I said enough.” a loud crack as James broke the dealer’s wrist in his grip with almost no effort, thus successfully shutting up said vampire who was holding his injured wrist to his chest. They both knew it was going to heal in a few minutes, but it was enough time for James to continue.

“Look. We can argue for all eternity here, but we both know who is going to have the final word here. You either give this young male over to me right now or I swear to whatever deity is out there, death will be a salvation for you after I have my way with you. Starting with smashing this whole place to pieces, together with your title and reputation; whilst letting all of your so hardly earned servants go. And not just the ones on this stage. Because I know these are just a few that you selected for this occasion and that you have hundreds others scattered around the building or rotting to death in a basement. So, do we have a deal?” he extended his hand towards the other and his expression was everything but kind.

And heck Thomas was sooo enjoying this in the background. He couldn’t wipe the grin off his face when the dealer lifted his uninjured hand to shake the noble vampire’s and murmur a barely audible “Deal.” in a gruff tone. “But I must warn you now Mr Madison. You got yourself into real trouble with that one.”

“That’s for me to decide, thank you.”

Everyone was silent as the young vampire turned around and started to take short steps to get off the stage. He turned back towards the others for a second, but only to incline his head for Thomas to follow him. The vampires knew better than upset their lord and get into any more trouble. And so they were all just standing there as Thomas stuck his tongue out like a child and saluted with two of his fingers at this temple with a short “Later losers!” aimed towards the vampires as he started to follow his new master towards the exit, followed by a grumpy dealer. There was paperwork that needed to be completed before they could finally leave this sick place.

~~~

Apparently, even though he seemed young, James was now old enough to have his own mansion. You heard it, his own _fucking_ mansion! With maids, several unnecessary room, expensive decorations, loads of paintings and all this crazy stuff. No wonder the Madison name was so famous if he already had the rights to live like this instead of sharing the same roof with this parents and younger siblings. And Thomas was supposed to be the new butler for this whole circus.

“You might be wondering about why I need all this. To be honest with you, I don’t. It was my father who insisted. It is much easier for him with me having a separate mansion from theirs here. Like my two brothers who were apparently old enough for this. To put it simply, there is more control this way over the country as we are not concentrated at one place, but he has eyes in other territories as well. I am responsible for looking after most of the south basically.” he explained. Just looking at Thomas’ expression and having had the same question asked several times before helped him understand what the unasked question was.

Which Thomas obviously did not know and earned the vampire a raised brow. “Are you a mind-reader now as well or what?”

“Let’s just call it practice instead. Come, there are several things I need to show you. Plus staff to introduce you to.” James sighed and put a hand on Thomas’ back to guide him inside. His new life was just about to begin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case any of you are wondering: Paul Jennings was the (slave) valet of James Madison until his death for decades and he was the first person to write a memoir about Madison. They were apparently really close, but that makes sense considering how long he served under him! People were upset that Madison has not freed Jennings upon his death (unlike Washington and Jefferson did with their manservants), but the fact itself that Jennings wrote such nice words about him I think proves his loyalty even after the death of his master.


	2. What are you talking about?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thomas is finally in the Madison mansion, but starts to learn things about James that he never expected from a vampire before

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And the second chapter is here~  
> I know this story hasn't received much support yet, but just those few really made me happy! So this is for you:  
> Thank you so much for leaving kudos Festively_Festive and Butter_Cloud (and 1 guest)! And more importantly, thanks for your lovely comment Butter_Cloud! You four are all amazing! <3  
> I'm sorry it took so long, I promise I will try and update more regularly. I just had quite a few unexpected personal things coming up, but will try and work harder on this story for sure :)

“… And I guess that concludes it. I know it’s a lot of information to take in at once, but I’m sure you will get used to it all eventually. Don’t worry, everyone will be patient for the first few weeks. Based on what I saw, I’m sure you have what it takes to be the resilient butler that this mansion needs.”

James concluded the tour with a smile on his face as he turned towards his new butler. He needed to admit, Thomas looked much better in his new uniform. Gone were the ragged clothes he was wearing back in at Mr Thornhill’s place and were replaced with something fit for the Madison mansion. Clothes from the finest materials, sewn by a real professional. Which, funnily enough was James’ cousin, Hercules Mulligan himself. His branch of the family followed a completely different path than his, but still gained real prestige around the country with their expertise. And James admired the way the new clothes fit Thomas. He had a feeling the young male had not been at _that place_ for long as his shape was still fit and muscular. Plus the black colour of the jacket, coupled with its fine material and personalised measurements made him look even more attractive and if James could say, intelligent. His injuries have been treated as well, so he looked to be in much better shape than when they arrived.

“Just to let you know, I want different clothes. These are too… plain and dark.” murmured Thomas as he was playing with the hem of his shirt.

“Thomas, you are my butler. You need to dress accordingly.”

“I don’t see why I could not do that with more colour. It doesn’t have to be bright, just not all black. The only colour in this is my shirt, but believe me, white is not a colour you want to wear for this profession. Plus white and black are like the plainest of combinations out there!”

James could not help but blink at that. Was his new butler seriously making a fuss about the colour of his uniform…? “I will see what I can do about it….”

“You better do, sir!”

Thomas seriously started to doubt his decision. A lot. Every step he took in the mansion, every painting he passed, just the whole vibe of the place was stinking of a noble vampire. And it disgusted him to his stomach. But he knew that in order to reach his goal, he needed to maintain his composure and the smile on his face. Act as if this whole butler thing was the greatest thing that ever happened to him. James seemed like a naive vampire, but Thomas was sure that there were several thing the young man was hiding. There was a reason the Madison name was feared by not just vampires, but hunters as well. Still… there was this strange aura around him. Something that was more humanly than a behaviour fit for a vampire. Inevitably, Thomas found himself drawn in by his curiosity. Despite hating the whole idea of staying under the same roof as his mortal enemy, a vampire, he wanted to know more about James. And not just because of his mission. He wanted to know why he was so different from the others.

There were so just many questions on his mind and he knew he needed to be patient. He had the time, he just needed to swallow the urge to grab the first knife he found and plunge it deep into the vampire’s chest. That had to wait. First things first, answers to his questions. Including something that has been nagging at the back of his mind ever since they stepped into this mansion. It was just so hard to miss…

“You know, I must ask. Who is the weird dude on the walls? And I don’t mean your father, thank you, but the guy who is standing besides you on some pictures. Like…. there.” he pointed to the picture on the nightstand besides the bed. The picture had a black frame, but that should not have been strange from a vampire. There were two males in there. One of them was James who was standing beside the other, seemingly older male. Despite their professional clothes, the vibe of the picture showed happiness. It was clear just from their affectionate smiles and the way the older male had his arm around James’ hip, while the vampire had his arm thrown around the other male’s shoulder that their relationship was something closer than two acquaintances. “Is he your friend?”

There was something strange in James’ eyes. Thomas was usually really good at reading expressions and even though there was a distance between the two of them, he could clearly see all kinds of emotions swimming in the vampire’s eyes. Sadness, fear, regret and… pain? It was hard to tell as they seemed to change every second before James spoke up. “He was. He died a few months ago. His name was Paul.”

“Oh… I’m sorry….” that explained it though. At least part of it. “I guess he was someone important if you try and keep his memory alive like this.”

“You could say so. But there is no point in being lost in the past. Concentrate on the present instead. Including one last thing you must know.” Thomas could swear James was trying to avoid talking about the topic. But he did not ponder it further. There was a time for everything and based on his new master’s reaction, it was clear that he needed to gain his trust first before he was willing to elaborate on whoever this Paul person was.

“This.” James continued as he put a bottle on the nightstand, where Thomas was leaning casually. He did not feel like following protocols and standing straight obediently, awaiting his master’s order every second of his life. Plus it seemed James did not mind, so he was not going to change his behaviour unless it gets him into trouble and ruins his masquerade. “Is my medicine. I know that it sounds silly, but I need to make sure to take a tablet every morning before bed, so please remind me in case I forget it.”

That definitely earned a frown from Thomas. “Medicine? What kind of psycho are you if they need to control you with this?” he asked as he lifted the bottle and tried to decipher what it was for based on the bottle, but came short as he found no label on it.

“I’m not a psycho. This medicine is not to control my crazy urges, but to aid my immunity. I guess there is no point in hiding it as it would eventually come to surface anyway. Better if you know now than suffer from the consequences later” James said as he snatched the bottle from Thomas’ hand and put it back to its place on the nightstand. “My immune system is not as strong as other vampires’. I tend to get sick easily, especially during winter time. The medicine helps to decrease the odds, but of course there are still cases when I get bedridden for days. It’s harder to treat a vampire with barely any of us being down on our luck like this.”

“A vampire that can get sick. That’s new.”

“Despite having an immortal body, we are not immune to everything, Thomas. Did you know that vampires can still get drunk if the alcohol is mixed in with high-quality blood?”

_Blood…_

“Yeah. Because humans are just walking blood taps for you that can also be used for sex on convenience, if I’m not mistaken” was Thomas’ gruff response. There was a sudden hostility in his eyes that earned a long sigh as a response, before James walked up to him and caressed the skin at the young male’s neck with the back of his hand. Thomas shuddered, but composed himself and lifted his hand to remove the intruding one from his neck. He was not comfortable with this at all. And not because a vampire was touching him, but because he was… so gentle. That was so unusual and none of them should have been like that!

James withdrew his hand, but still kept the smile on his face. “Well, for most vampires that might be true, but not for me. I actually prefer to treat them with the same rights we have and only take blood from them if they are willing to do so. Not many realise this, but blood given by consent tastes much better since you can just enjoy the taste without needing to force your victim to calm down until you are finished. And they wonder why so many of them die. An angry vampire is a hungry vampire. Plus it’s easier to drain your victim dry than to erase their memories so they don’t just come back and kill you in your sleep.”

 _Victim_ … There he is, he said it! And Thomas knew that despite his kind words, there was no such thing as trusting a vampire like that.

“And you want me to believe that your father is ok with all this shit you are blabbering about? You are aware that you are considered as one of the most badass, scariest vampires out there, right?” he questioned with crossed arms, definitely not convinced.

“Think whatever you want, it’s not going to change how I am thinking. Everyone is entitled for their own reason and beliefs. But I do have a name to maintain, don’t forget. As for my father, you are correct to say he is still living under old standards. Fortunately for me, I only need to pretend to follow his delusional old-fashioned rubbish policies when I am around him or his so called friends. But I was given free will over my mansion in the meantime. As long as I finish the tasks that are given to me and maintain our family’s prestige, I am in no danger of my father’s wrath. Plus whatever happens behind closed doors stays here. If you are referring to the several victims, be it vampire or human before, those bastards definitely deserved what they got. I’m not killing aimlessly. It’s not my fault there are just too many stupid creatures out there, begging to be killed, that everyone is now afraid of me.” explained James like as if all this was the most conventional topic in the world. As if Thomas could not just go and tell on him to James Madison Sr or try and use this information against him. He was still a human and there was no doubt any of them could easily reveal such information to hunters for their benefit.

In Thomas’ case, however, all of that had to wait. This was not enough. He had a mission to complete first. And that was to gain his master’s trust. That, however, might not be so hard as he originally feared. He had a feeling James secretly appreciated the way Thomas was behaving earlier. How he was opposing the way vampires were treating their slaves and speaking about it with an open mind. And the whole situation was definitely appealing to Thomas himself as well. His master was one heck of an interesting vampire. If he didn’t know any better, he would have easily believed that James was part of some secret democratic vampire society.

“So what about that guy you killed at the auction, eh? He seemed innocent enough besides having a big mouth and a horrible fashion taste.”

James shrugged, but with the smallest grin on his face upon hearing Thomas’s remark. “He has been smuggling information about my family for a few months now. I just needed to find the right excuse to finally kill him without fearing the consequences. It’s quite hard when you have a sneaky-ass bastard who leaves no evidence behind.”

“Daaamn. Having a hot-tempered, vicious background to your name does have its advantages I guess. I wish I could just go around and kill a few bastards like that without needing to wash my name clean after.” noted Thomas with a slight sneer in his voice. He had to admit: he found it entertaining to have a master like James. His stay here might not be so bad in the end.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Any feedback is greatly appreciated <3  
> We will get some more action (and two new appearances!) in the next chapter~


	3. The first report

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thomas meets his friends for his first report, but they are not so happy about his findings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New chapter and two new characters! Welcome Burr and Adams~
> 
> I would like to thank SaphricSphere6 for the lovely comment on the previous chapter, really made me happy! Also to Its_heccin_eli, SaphricSphere6 for the new kudos <3

Normally, a meeting like this would occur in a dark alley, secluded from the curious eyes of the crowd. However, with a vampire master, i.e. a creature of the night, Thomas’s only option was to sneak out when it was bright outside. When his so called master was asleep. When he was also supposed to be sleeping, hence his occasional yawns and the double espresso in front of him.

He has been at his new position for a week now and his body has slowly started to adjust to the complete flip of his normal sleeping habits: getting up before James at least an hour before dawn, staying up the whole time he is awake in case his presence was requested (e.g. bringing him his “morning” cup of warmed up blood) and ensuring all other staff members were following his orders to the best standard.

It was hard at first, he needed to admit, but he was usually a night owl before this whole ordeal anyway, so it was not as much as a challenge as he originally feared. No, the real challenge was changing into his regular attire - which this case consisted of ripped light blue jeans and a dark purple hoodie with the crest and sign of “Virginia University” printed on the front - once the sun was up, sneaking out of the mansion - which was not as hard considering his skills and the fact that most of the other employees were fast asleep already - and making it to his secret appointment with his friends.

One of the conditions he raised when he accepted the mission was that he was not going to report to just anyone assigned for the task. He was only willing to report to his friends. Having worked behind a desk in an office, handling reports and seeing all the after-mass of cases, he was well aware of the corruption and dishonesty some of the hunters held in the headquarters. He did not want to lose his chances just because a wannabe hunter decided to falsify his statement or worse, took the credit for Thomas’ work. No, the only people he trusted with this were his friends.

They set the meeting at a coffee shop, but Thomas chose one of the secluded corners, giving them enough privacy to have a direct discussion about the young man’s progress. Two young male entered the shop: one with a caramel skin, similar to Thomas’ tone, but this guy was bald and dressed in plain coloured-clothes. At the moment, he was wearing a white shirt, an ivory vest and light grey jeans. The other guy had a similar build to Madison, but his stature was less composed and his clothes were quite light: a light blue hoodie with a white shirt underneath that read “Rise up! Eyes up! Wise up!”. Even his hair was light brown and his eyes were a beautiful shade of blue, like the sky. The only dark thing about him were his jeans, which were black and his military boots with a dark brown colour. These were the guys Thomas has been waiting for. Aaron Burr and John Adams.

“Well hello, my friends. Long time no see! How have you been? I went ahead and ordered for you in advance. Almond latte for you Aaron and strawberry hot chocolate for the sweet John here.” was Thomas’s enthusiastic greeting. He even winked towards the shorter male, whose blush was quite apparent in the bright light of the room. How Thomas managed to still act with such vigour was a surprise, considering the amount - or more appropriately the lack of sleep he had. Despite his friendly demeanour however, the two other males took a seat opposite him with serious expressions on their faces. But Adams still bowed slightly in appreciation towards the hot drink and started to sip on it quietly.

“Thomas. I’m surprised to see you in such good mood. I was afraid that this assignment will make you go mad in a week or so, but look at you all bright and joyous as usual.” commented Burr, but with a friendly smile as he realised that Thomas really was his old self. He wouldn’t admit it, but he was one of the people who was worried about Thomas’ future. Burr, of all people knew well what his friend had gone through before this whole ordeal and how hard it must have been for him to leave under the same roof as his sworn enemy.

“If it wasn’t an official meeting, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him go around, dazzling in the room, returning with like 15 phone numbers.” added Adams with a shy, but cute laugh.

“Hey, I have you know I’m not that heartless! There are like what? 20 people in this cafe at the first place and if one of them saw me getting the number of the other, they definitely wouldn’t be happy to give me their number right after. Also, why bother with collecting all those numbers when I can just go for the big fish and then bath in the success after in the privacy of my—-“

“OK, that’s enough details!” interrupted Burr with a cough, but Thomas still folded his arms with a smirk on his face. Oh, his friend was just jealous, he knew! Because Thomas had the guts to actually approach someone he found attractive while Burr has been single for god knows how long. Ok, that’s an overstatement and he had his reasons, but still… Thomas knew for a fact that his friend had his eyes on someone, but was too afraid to ask him out. Yes, you heard that right: him! Because his lovely closeted friend was bisexual and despite claiming otherwise, especially after his long-term relationship with his ex-girlfriend, he definitely was ready to get back on the dating field and with a certain person he had his eyes on secretly for a few month now.

Adams nodded and then took another sip of this drink, before looking up at his friend across from them. “Aaron is right. We haven’t been in touch ever since you left for the mission. So… how is it going? Despite your obvious success in blending in as you would not be smirking at Aaron like that if you were still worried about what is going on back in the manor.”

“That’s not completely true. I have barely just earned his trust if I can even say that. The fact that I needed to sneak out just to meet you guys should say enough, right? I don’t have access to any of this personal folders to be honest… I’m not even allowed into his study or have access to his diary. So I barely have any idea about his schedule even though that is supposed to be part of my job as a butler. I only receive like a short summary like this one.” he said as he handed a piece of paper to his colleagues. There was not much information on it. Just the night broken down into hours and a note of what Madison’s plan is for specific times. But no details about who he is meeting or for what purpose. Just short summaries like “private meeting with a party of 2” or “dinner with VIP - prepare with attention to detail”.

“Interesting…” hummed Burr, but then put the paper down on the table, while Adams snatched it up, still curious to find the smallest of hints his friends might have missed.

“What did you expect? He does have a reputation to uphold and that kinda means not giving out his biography to a certain human who just joined his crew.” Thomas answered with complete peace as he leaned back in his chair and took a sip from his coffee.

“You seem to take this all well despite your usual frustration to such situations.” noted Burr with a frown. Of course, as the man who has known Thomas for the longest - since they were in kindergarden to be exact - he was well familiar with his friend and his reactions to certain situations.

“Well, it’s not as bad I though it would be. You know, I kind of imagined this dark and creepy ass manor from a horror movie, but that place is damn fancy on the inside! Kind of like a place you would see in the late 1700s with fireplaces luxurious furniture and everything, but with modern electric and water systems. Gosh, I don’t want to imagine what it would be like to carry all that water just to fill up a bathtub and heat every single bucket of water up before that!” Thomas started to ramble, but then threw his arms in the air at the end of this sentence to emphasise the ridiculousness of the thought. “But joking aside, the staff is ok I guess. There is not many of them anyway as vampires don’t have much necessities. Plus considering their limited palate, there is no need for a fancy chef either. Interestingly, all staff are human, but here is the crazy thing: none of them actually care that their master is a blood-sucking monster of the night! And you know what? I… kindofgetthem.” he quieted down at the end, knowing quite well what the reaction to this statement will be.

Well, Adams was more shocked then upset, but Burr was another question. At least his tone seemed calm for the moment.

“Excuse me, but you what?”

“I kind of them them? Look Aaron, before you start to panic and gave me a speech about why this is crazy, hear me out, ok? I know that there is a common belief that vampires are holding these humans out of their wills and torture them, if not just keeping them for their blood. And that might be true for most of them. But… Madison is different. He has different beliefs and even if my insight is restricted as I still need to earn his trust… I kind of believe him. There is no way a vampire lord of such fame could play the different card with such conviction to a mere human he just met.”

While Adams seemed confused and worried, the frown on Burr’s face and the way he massaged his temple were obviously not good signs.

“Thomas, you can’t be serious. Need I remind you what creature you are faced with?”

“I know, but—“

“There is no but Thomas! All vampires are the same, no matter what! This Madison guy might try and convince you otherwise, but you know what? This is all just a ruse to lure you in his trust so that he can then drain you and leave no evidence behind.”

“Why go to all that trouble if he could just do it with force like most of them do at the first place?” Thomas questioned, even though the gears started to turn in his head. James did mention that the blood of willing victims tasted better. Would he seriously deceive all his staff just to have a big and better-tasting meal after?

“Thomas, I see it in your eyes. You are questioning his motives as well. We all know well what they are like. They are stuck in a world of ideals that were created centuries ago. Instead of trying to make amends, they relish in foolish humans who believe in eternal life in return of their services. Be it blood or other.. physical pleasures.” even Burr shuddered at the thought. There were several reports on the fates of these victims and let’s just say none of them were pretty. “Their king doesn’t care about what all other vampires do as long as he is satisfied. And all the vampire lords are given these crazy rights and subjects to work with, leaving no option for the lower-ranks but to follow their ideals if they want to survive. And don’t forget that they are immortal. Even if they make mistakes or us humans, manage to outsmart them, all of this will mean nothing in a few hundred years. They will eventually forget everything Thomas and everything will be part of history. Even if they do show emotions for some magical reason, all of that will mean nothing once the humans they care about are gone. There is no peace possible Thomas. They are mindless monsters who exploit the fact that their stuck-up king loves to see humans suffer and doesn’t care if they endanger their species, or kill thousands of humans while doing so just to save their asses. They will do anything just to keep their hands on fresh blood.”

Thomas was silent for a few seconds, finding more interest in his take-away cup at the moment than the scolding expression of his friend. “I know all that, but… Madison… No, James…. He is different…” he tried, but flinched at the serious tone that followed by no other than the otherwise meek John Adams.

“Are you seriously trying to defend a vampire right now?”

“Of course not!”

“Then why are you protecting him? Or have you forgot what happened with Martha?” retorted Burr, not realising the severity of his words until after they were said.

That was a strong and low blow…. and the young man could see the mistake once he noticed the sudden change of expression on his friend’s face. The way his grip on the cup tightened, splashing some of the contents on the table.

“Thomas, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to…”

“We are just worried about you, man.” Adams added, trying to defend his friend. But the damage was already done.

As if one cue, the weather outside took a drastic change. With a thunder rumbling through the previously silent morning, soon followed by the heavy clatter of rain hitting the windows of the cafe. Thomas did not care. He got up from his seat with such vigour, he managed to hit his knee on the table and it was a miracle that the cups on top did not fell over from the strong quiver of the desk.

“I have nothing else to say. Tell Angelica that I will continue with the mission. And don’t worry _Burr_ , I know why we are doing this. I promised not to lose sight of the original goal and this won’t change in the future either. I’m just going to re-evaluate my options.”

“Thomas—“

“Good day gentleman. And don’t forget to give my greetings to Charles.” and with that, Thomas left with just a single wave of his hand, silencing his friends with the gesture at the same time. He did not want to go any further with the conversation. He valued his friendships and did not want to possibly lose them due to their lack of insight in to what he experienced. But at the same time, they opened his eyes to the possible danger of giving in to the sweet words of James. They were a lie and Thomas knew it. He just had the slightest of hope that Aaron and John were wrong.

_“Oh no Tom… Please don’t cry my love.”_

As he stepped out into the cold vicious storm, as if on cue with the weather, his thoughts were slowly overtaken by the dark grief that Burr’s words awoke in his heart at the mention of Martha. He did not even care about the strong rain falling down on his body or the lack of an umbrella. Or the fact that he still had miles to walk. Or that he was drenched to the bone by the time he reached the manor. Once he entered his his room, he no longer had the energy to change, he just collapsed into this bed, hoping that the realm of dreams will at least be void of the painful memories and fear that were clouding his mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thomas, silly, never walk in the storm without an umbrella!  
> As always, any feedback/kudos/comments are welcome :)


	4. A little help

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thomas is sick (and he hates it), but James is there to take care of him~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New (and longer) chapter!  
> I didn't plan on updating in just a few days, but Butter_Cloud and SaphricSphere6, your comments made my day so much, so I would like to thank you here as well! You give me motivation to keep going <3  
> Also thanks for LakenReizen and Tigerplossom for the new kudos!

Thomas hated being sick. 

Being powerless and suffering from all random stuff that just couldn’t make up their minds in his system. When he first woke up, his nose was completely blocked, but a few hours after that, when his nose spray started to properly take effect and he finally managed to take a few deeper breaths, he ended up with the worst sore throat possible instead. Which just got even worse as the time passed. He was no longer able speak without a coughing fit and his voice was so scratchy, even he was scared of it. And he could swear that his nose was getting all stuffed up again. 

“I haaate iiiiiit. I’m dyiiiing!” he whined as he was hugging his pillow for comfort after another aforementioned coughing fit passed his body. He was too weak and every single movement hurt. His muscles felt like they were made of lead and were on fire at the same time. Not to mention the overpowering pain in his chest that made every intake of breath hurt. Which became even worse after the coughings. He seriously felt like crying. He just hated being sick so much.

And if all of this was not enough, his body decided to give in to a fever that was trying to fight the virus in his body, causing even further distress. Because the two duvets and the fluffy blanket underneath those just did not feel enough against the constant cold he felt. Not like he did not understand the logic behind the body’s immune reactions, but still… It was another thing to comprehend the complex system capable of fighting microorganisms not visible by the human eye… and to actually go through it all. 

It was something that Thomas hated with all his being even if it meant that after a few days, he will be back to normal and his body has successfully overcome another challenge from mother nature. The thing is, he needed to wait for that and in his current statement, that few days felt like an eternity. Which was clear by the constant whining, the huge pile of tissues in the bin beside his bed and his lack of activity in the house. 

Did he mention that he hated being sick?

“Ugh, why haven’t they invented telephatic medicines yet?” his whining was non-stop as he was trying to stretch his arm out long enough to reach the bottle on the nightstand without moving the rest of his body. He was unsure how it got there in the first place, but someone in the mansion was nice enough to bring him medicine and tea. He wondered how they knew that he was sick. His current foggy mind did not have the capability to understand that him being sick meant he was unable to do his work. Or that he had work in the first place.

“You shouldn’t have walked in the storm without an umbrella. You dig your own grave you know?” came a deep voice from the door. And without looking up, Thomas already recognised who the voice belonged to. What he did not understand was why his master was there. Was he angry? Thomas was not the first human to work at the mansion, so he surely understood what being sick meant. There was a slight itch at the back of his mind like as if something was trying to break free, but was unable to get through the rich fog covering its path. Was there something he was supposed to remember?

“If you are here to educate me on my life choices, you are too late. If you haven’t noticed, the damage is already done”

“I know. I’m actually here to help you.” was the calm response from James and as Thomas gathered enough strength to turn his head towards the other male, he noticed the small box in his hands that he placed on the nightstand, then sat down on the side of the bed, close enough to reach Thomas easily.

“What’s that…?” he questioned, but did not get a response. Instead, James lifted his hand to the young male’s forehead, who was quite surprised by the sudden, but gentle touch. His face was already burning and this time, he was actually grateful for the fever-induced blush. It certainly covered his surprise and… was that embarrassment? He could not really think much about it as the next thing he realised, James took a thermometer out from the box and stuck in Thomas’ mouth.

The human had an obvious pout on his face, but could not gather enough energy to protest. He tried to lift his arm, but all it resulted in was a pathetic whine as the pain shot up his arm like electricity. All he could do was wait and hope that they have finally reached the day where eyes alone could kill. 

The indifference on James’ face confirmed otherwise and as the thermometer gave out a tiny beeping noise, he lifted it out from Thomas’ mouth and had a look at the numbers on the screen.

“39 °C (102.2. °F). Not optimal, but at least you won’t need a cold bath. You should be fine with medicine, plenty of fluid and rest for now. But we will keep monitoring your temperature. And you should take some antipyretic.” James explained as he wiped the end of the thermometer with a tissue, then started to look around his box again, before taking a small blister pack out from it which contained some white pills. He took two out and then poured some water into the glass already on the nightstand. “Do you think you can swallow these or do you need some help?”

The fact that Thomas tried to avoid the vampire’s gaze was answer enough. The young male did try to reach out with his hands, but they were shaking, so James pushed them back on the bed with the same gentleness he used before. 

“Don’t force yourself. You are clearly in pain. Once your fever goes down, it should be easier for you to move, but for now, let me help.” 

Thomas was devastated. And felt even more pathetic than before. The fact that he could not even take his medication was a great shame already, but now he was also relying on a vampire’s help at that. His master. A creature who he was supposed to hate with all his being. There were so many things wrong with the situation. He needed to do something!

Despite all his effort, however, he could not make himself resist. He was too weak and all he could achieve was a small whine of protest, but for someone like James, who was only seeing the young male’s face and could not read his thoughts, he actually found it adorable. And this is exactly why he lifted one of the pills to Thomas’s lips and waited in patience until the human opened his mouth in acceptance. James poured some water into his mouth as well, before allowing Thomas to swallow, even if the motion was followed by an even louder moan from the human. His throat obviously was not happy with their decision of taking any medication at all. 

“Just one more.” 

Was Thomas imagining things or was James’ voice really soothing? It was nice and calm, but firm at the same time. He found himself nodding and accept the second pill more willingly this time, before going through the torture of swallowing again. This one was even worse on his already abused throat and he shut his eyes and took ragged breaths over his partially blocked nose, trying to collect himself and not make himself look even more pathetic than he already was. But the pain was just too much and he found himself whining like a kicked puppy again. 

This time, however, he felt a gentle touch on his forehead and he opened his eyes in surprise when he felt that someone started to stroke his head. And despite the blurriness of the world, he could still make out the figure of James, who was still sitting there, beside him, with a kind smile on his face.

“I will come back later. But for now, sleep. That will help the medicine take effect faster.”

Thomas did not need to be asked twice. He already felt his eyelids close slowly. He still heard the retreating footsteps, but despite the closeness, the sound seemed quite distant in his ears besides the constant ringing there. As his body gave in to the tiredness and weakness completely, he could swear he heard something else, but the sound was already lost in the fog and before he could even think about it any further, he drifted off to sleep.

~~~

“You fever seems to have gone down, good. I think three more days, and you should be back to normal.” 

Thomas was still unsure how or why this happened, but he soon learnt that it was James who was taking care of him the whole time. The only difference was, after the whole antipyretic incident, he was aware of it all. 

The way James kept checking on him every hour or so during the night (Thomas was sleeping through most of the day anyway) and brought him fresh tea, soup and helped him select and take his medicines plus ensured he had a fresh, cold compress on his forehead the whole time. He needed to admit, he was actually impressed by the knowledge and care that his master treated him with. 

Despite all this, however, Thomas was still clearly annoyed by the fact that he was sick. Even with his fever down, his nose, throat and chest were still killing him. He had more control over his body now, had more ability to speak and his thoughts were less foggy, giving way to his usual bold and over-analysing self. Despite the need to stop occasionally due to the pain in his throat. But even then, James was there with a nice cup of tea. Which Thomas just could not understand how the vampire always managed to keep warm for him. 

“That’s still three days longer than I want it to!” he whined. That was basically the only thing that hasn’t changed, but after hearing it on a constant basis ever since Thomas fell ill, James was either immune or just simply did not mind the childish behaviour at all.

“You are the one to blame. I told you before, you shouldn’t have been out in that storm without an umbrella in the first place. What were you doing out in such weather anyway?” James questioned. This has been bothering him, ever since his butler fell on the floor the day after the storm, in the middle of his orders to the other employees. A complete shivering mess with ragged breathing - which the young male obviously did not even remember. What was so important that Thomas took such a risk instead of staying home? To James’ knowledge, they were full on all resources, so it wasn’t like he needed to run out to get anything either. They had a regular supply of goods. And the fact that Thomas hesitated in his response further confirmed the fear in James that his butler was hiding something from him.

“I…” Thomas really wanted to come up with an excuse, but of course, his foggy mind decided to act up in a situation like this. How was he supposed to cover up his trail? The fact that he was out meeting other hunters to discuss James’ background. A vampire who instead of being the vicious monster many hunters portrayed him to be was currently taking care of someone who was supposed to be the death of him once the hunters decided that they were satisfied with the information gathered by Thomas. Hold on a second! This was exactly the opening he needed.

“The better question is, how are you so good at all this? I get it, you are prone to get sick, but from what I saw, it’s quite different from the common cold humans get.” 

That’s what he tried to remember in his fuzzy state! Oh well, not like it was so relevant anymore. He knew for sure that his master was not upset with him taking a few days off until he got better. 

Instead of a clear answer however, James was avoiding his gaze this time. And despite the dimmed lights in the room, Thomas could swear that he saw a slight blush on the dark skin on his master’s cheek.   
  
“You are right. But don’t forget that I’ve had quite a few runs of employees before, so I am well familiar with the symptoms and medications humans use when they get sick.”

“And you seriously want me to believe that? From what I heard, it is usually the other staff members helping the one who is sick and not the vampire masters themselves. That would just be below them.” Thomas questioned the words with a frown, but his expression soon was replaced by pain when a coughing fit hit him hard. He felt a hand rubbing gentle circles on his back and was he hallucinating or was James seriously whispering something to him? His mind was too foggy at that moment to understand what he said though. But his voice was definitely soothing.

_I must be way too sick to think that a vampire’s voice could be soothing… like ever…._

Once his coughing stopped and he was finally able to breathe kind of properly again - the hoarse rasps were still there and all the breaths he took felt like knives were hitting his lungs - James helped him settle back into his pillows again. He even fluffed up the pillow under his head for him, bless his heart.

_Wait what? Did he seriously just add that praise to his thoughts?!_

“As I said, not all of us are heartless monsters. Some of us actually care, you know?” the vampire answered once he was happy with his work and he straightened up again.

“Still, why would you take it upon yourself to personally help a slave when you could just assign one of the others to help?” Thomas challenged, but his words were cut short by another coughing fit. And this time, it was getting harder to find his words again with all the pain radiating through his chest and throat. All he could manage was a groan.

“Stop talking. You are just making it worse. And I was finally happy that the tea helped, you know, but now all that work was in waste. And for the last time, slave is a bad term, stop using it. You said so yourself as well before, didn’t you?”

Whether it was the pain or his well-concealed embarrassment, Thomas did not respond to that. The pout on his face revealed enough and James could do nothing but sigh at that. His butler sure had a strange mindset. 

“I have something that could help, but you need to promise to stay still.” 

That did earn a frown from the human. Something like that never sounded good from a vampire. Was he going to bite him? Or use some of that random magic noble vampires were capable of? Hold on a sec… was that how he managed to keep his tea warm?! 

“You know, if you keep frowning like that, you are going to have wrinkles on your face at a much younger age.” 

And at that Thomas gasped. But not a surprised, but more of a dramatic gasp that on its own showed the desperation of the young male from having wrinkles on his astonishingly beautiful- his words - face at a young age! And James could not help but giggle at that as he pulled a small container out from the box that has become a constant accessory besides Thomas’ nightstand. 

“You should seriously see your face. But don’t worry, I’m not going to hurt you or use some ‘weird vampire stuff’ on you.” he started and before Thomas could say anything, he lifted up a finger with his free hand to stop him. “Your expression said it all. But anyways, this is just some chest rub. This is a recipe that a friend of mine created and it usually helps with coughs and chest pains. Plus it is more concentrated from herbs, so takes effect much faster than conventional ointments over the counter.” 

Thomas still had his doubts, but this time not just because of a home-made medicine he was supposed to trust but also because his master was about to use a fucking chest rub on him. Repeat: chest and rub! 

But he needed to admit that James was right. He has used VapoRub quite frequently when he was sick before and just the thought alone that something similar was available now was already soothing his nerves. 

The pain has officially won over rationality. Which he acknowledged with a small nod of his head, before closing his eyes. There was no way he was going to watch the whole thing! Plus it was always nice to take a small “nap” after bigger coughing fits like the one he just had. 

The moment the blankets were removed from above his chest and the cold air of the room hit him- which was actually not bad, especially after James was nice enough to start a fire in the fireplace -, he shivered visibly and a soft whine left his lips. But that was soon replaced by a burning feeling the moment he felt James unbutton the top three buttons on his nightshirt. And shortly after a cold, slightly wet hand touching his now naked chest, causing him to gasp. The cold touch had a cooling effect on his warm body, but at the same time caused a deep sense of embarrassment rush over his veins. 

His senses were soon overwhelmed by the refreshing smell of lavender and menthol as James started to apply the salve over his chest with the same, still surprising gentleness he has been using for the past few days. His breathing gradually became clearer and the pain was slowly fading away. It was still there, but Thomas needed to admit that his master was not kidding when he said this stuff was more effective than the ones he used before. 

And as the pain was no longer keeping a tight hold on his mind, his thoughts started to wander towards different directions. Towards the fact that he actually found the way James was gently rubbing circles on his chest soothing. That he was missing his touch during those few seconds he removed his fingers to get more rub from the container. That for the first time ever since he fell sick, he actually felt at ease. And he would not admit it out loud, but he was even thinking about how nice it would be to fall asleep with this nice smell surrounding his senses and James’ gentle touch soothing his nerves.

And as he slowly opened his eyes to look at the ones of the predator he was supposed to hate, he found nothing but gentleness in the red orbs. And his smile was speaking of all the gentleness of the world without even uttering a single word. A good sense of weird has replaced the doubt and embarrassment that was clouding his mind before. 

Was he… trusting James?

“You know, I’m still intrigued and you never gave a straight response.” he started, but then needed to stop to take a deep breath after not using his throat for a few minutes now (just to avoid confusion, he closes his eyes here again), before continuing his thought. However, as he exhaled slowly and reopened his eyes at the same time, they fell on the picture he had on his nightstand. Fortunately for him, James never asked anything about it. But looking at it now, in his foggy mind, the image of his young self and the beautiful girl beside him was gradually replaced by James standing by that mysterious guy. The guy who deserved a place at the same place by James’s side in the vampire’s bedroom. “Does this have anything to do with the dude in the pictures?”

James’s hand stilled and despite not getting a response, the silence itself was a clear answer for Thomas.

“So it does.” he confirmed, but did not elaborate further. Partly because he still had difficulty breathing, but as the salve slowly got absorbed into his body, he did find that the task was getting even smoother and induced less pain.

When James finished, he closed the cap on the container and got up from the bed. “I will be back in a sec.” he said. Thomas did not question him. He was just too tired to do so and it was just easier to close his eyes and concentrate on breathing for the moment. He did hear the sound of water running in the background, most likely coming from the joint bathroom. Which was soon followed by steps and he did not need to question who they belonged to. He did open his eyes in surprise when he felt something cold on his forehead though. James was hovering over him and was currently dabbing a small wet towel to his sweaty forehead and Thomas found himself sighing from the relief that the small gesture alone gave him. It was a nice change after the compress he used before now that his fever was not so high anymore. Or maybe James has done something like this before, he just simply couldn’t remember. He closed his eyes again, suddenly finding even more trust in the vampire’s skills than before.

“Go on.” he encouraged, seeing the hesitance in James’ eyes. Which was followed by a nod, before the vampire got to work.

He was so careful with his movements as he slowly moved the towel over Thomas’ eyes, cheeks and finally, his neck, before retreating his hand. And to his utmost terror, Thomas found that he was missing his touch. What was his delusional, fever-spiked mind making him think again?!

Who was he trying to fool…? James himself confirmed that his fever was down and a few moments before, they were having a meaningful conversation. Which would have been impossible if his mind was seriously still delusional. There was no workaround. He had to admit that the care he was given was something he missed dearly. But could he seriously trust it all? What if Burr was right and this was all part of a ruse?

But as he opened his eyes again, he found nothing but worry, care and was it trust in the other man’s eyes? Was it not only Thomas contemplating that dangerous feeling then? And damn that smile was definitely contagious because despite all the pain and heat, Thomas found the corner of his mouth lift up to mirror the vampire’s expression. With a silent “thank you” leaving his lips, before he exhaled slowly and closed his eyes again. The medicine he took earlier was taking effect and he found that his mind was getting fuzzier again now that he was calm. Damn, did he say he hated being sick? 

James quickly rinsed the small towel in the bowl of cold water that he brought along with him from the bathroom, before he folded it and put it on the top of Thomas’ forehead. He didn’t get a noticeable response this time and based on the even breathing of the other man, he had a feeling that he fell asleep. 

“Good night Thomas. Make sure you rest up properly.” he whispered, even though he did not really expect a response in return. He was talking to a sleeping person. And that is exactly why he jumped from the silent murmur coming from the bed after he got up from it. It was barely a whisper, really weak in nature, but because of his enhanced hearing, James still heard what was said with clear intensity.

“You know, there is no shame in the fact that you loved him.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thomas suspects something!  
> More will be revealed in the next chapter. I hope you guys liked this one :)


	5. Finding comfort in each other

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thomas learns more about James' past, but things turn out to be completely different from what he expected

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New chapter (already)!  
> As always, I would like to thank the ones who supported the previous chapter with their lovely comments: SaphricSphere6 and Vincey_wincey (welcome to the club!) <3  
> And we have officially reached a 100 hits! I'm not sure how many of those actually proceed with reading all the chapters, but I hope this still means that there is even more interest out there for this story~

They didn't bring the topic up for a while. They had a silent agreement that whatever was said should not be elaborated for the sake of James’ privacy. The same way the vampire never questioned the picture on his butler’s nightstand.

Despite his original intention of trying to find out every gossip about the vampire, Thomas found himself being patient. He did not really want to force any information out from his master. It would have been suspicious as well.

He needed to remind himself that the smallest mistake could mean that his secret will be out. But as the time passed, he needed to admit that his mission of staying calm and uncovered was all becoming easier. He no longer found it difficult to accept his role as the butler of the Madison household - or at least one of them. To respect the walls his master built around himself. If he really wanted to find out more about James, he needed to - as his dear friend loved to say - wait for it. Keep his plans to his chest and see where things will go.

There were only two options anyway. If he managed to earn James’ complete trust, he will eventually be able to reveal even more than was originally asked for. And if he failed, he could just kill the vampire and collect all the information he needed the hard way. I.e. try and trace all his steps and find logic behind the paperwork left behind without having the slightest idea about his work.

But why was he suddenly afraid of the latter case…? Why was it so hard to imagine himself with a knife in his hand being pierced through James’ heart after all the mess is done?

“You are spacing out again. Is everything okay?” was the question that woke him up from his thoughts. And as he turned towards the source, he was faced with the frown on James’ face who was currently sitting in his bed, with a book in his lap, which he most likely put down to see Thomas better.

The young male completely forgot about the fact that he was in his master’s bedroom. But of course, it was time for his bedtime routine. It was not long before dawn and he was just preparing the medications for the vampire to take. Which was obviously taking a lot longer than such a simple task should have.

“Y… yeah… just thinking about stuff, you know? Humans tend to do that.” he retorted, with his now usual smirk present on his face. He could not let the vampire see through his mask. His fear, his doubt or his true intentions.

James sighed and marked the page in his book, before shutting it close and putting it aside on his nightstand. He made the mistake of foolishly trusting the routine movement however, directly gazing at Thomas the whole time instead.

“You know it is easy to see—-“ but he did not manage to finish his sentence as fear suddenly struck his features when he saw that the picture frame on the nightstand was knocked over by the very book he accidentally placed at the wrong angle. He wasn’t even able to react in time to exploit his crazy vampire speed as Thomas liked to put it.

If it wasn’t for the butler’s outstanding reflexes, a devastating shattering sound would have echoed through the room soon after that. Fortunately for James, Thomas managed to react in his stead by placing the jug he was just pouring water from back on the small preparation desk nearby, jump and reach for the picture frame in time with miraculous grace and speed. Even if all this meant him ending up on the floor in the end and looking up to the bed with a pout on his face.

“You see what you have done? Now my trousers are ripped at the knee!”

And despite his original shock, James now found himself laughing at the ridiculousness of the reaction from the young male.

“Is that seriously what you are upset about? Thomas, you just performed one of the most amazing saves I’ve ever seen in my life and got away without any scratches or damage to your surroundings. Anyone else in your place would have at least either dropped the jug to the floor or did not even manage to reach the frame in time.” he explained and the smile on his face was now something hard to remove.

“Uhm… hello? What did I just say?” Thomas pointed to his now ripped trousers with a pout, but soon found himself also smiling, before handing the picture frame to his master. “I believe this is yours.”

“Thanks.” James took the object from him, but the waver in his voice let on about the fact that he was hiding something and did not want to risk it by saying any more. And the way he slowly raised the frame to his lap and gazed at it with such devotion and relief in his eyes… It could have been a fragment of his imagination, but Thomas also caught the slightest movement of James’ thumb grazing the back of the frame. A gentle, barely visible stroke. A fond gesture towards an object which he almost lost seconds ago. Was that why he was so quiet? Was he scared that his voice would give his fear away about what he almost lost? Well, it was too late, Thomas saw through him easily.

“You know, pictures these days are easy to replace and I don’t think I’ve ever seen you this scared about something before. Wait, that’s not right. I’ve never even see you be scared before! So what got you all worked up now about such a small thing?” he asked, but with no hostility or condemnation in his voice. He understood the importance of personal belongings close to the heart, but he found it strange that for James, it was something that could have easily been replaced if damaged. But the fear in the vampire’s eyes when he realised his mistake as the frame got knocked over… even a simple second of glance was enough for Thomas to appreciate the importance of the picture frame and act before the damage was done in the next.

“I… know…” James was still hesitant with his words and he even huddled up a bit, making his already small frame look even smaller. It was quite ironic actually. The vampire resembling a victim more at the second than the vicious creature he was usually portrayed as. But this was exactly why Thomas realised what the true valuable object for the vampire was. It was not the picture, but…

“It’s the frame, isn’t?”

James eyes widened for a second and this time, he even raised his head towards the young male.How could Thomas see through him with such ease? The last person who understood him so well was the very person on the picture he was now clutching to his chest. Like as if the gesture alone would protect it from any further risks.

A nod of affirmation was all Thomas needed, but to his surprise, James spoke up shortly after. This time with more confidence in his voice.

“It was a present. There is a small engraving on the back of it. I know it’s silly as the frame was falling face forward, but… If the glass was shattered, that would mean I could no longer use it… I wouldn’t forgive myself if any damage was to come to it. This was the last present I got from him…”

_…Before he died…_

Even without the words being said, it didn’t take a genius to figure out the rest. And despite most of his memories being hazy, Thomas at least remembered the last words he said at one of those nights when he was sick before sleep took over him.

“So I was right He was more than just your butler. Or friend, am I right?”

He did not get a direct answer to that question, but the sudden change of expression on James’ face said enough. His previous devotion was now replaced by anger as he gritted his next words out.

“Those bastards killed him. Exploiting the weakness of a helpless human in the absence of his master and then pretending that the whole incident was just an accident. They outnumbered him, you know? Made sure he suffered for the longest time possible before killing him at the moment of my return. Did not even care about the action of their consequences. Said that he was a weakness that needed to be discarded and that I should feel lucky he was gone.”

Thomas wanted to say something, but he was at loss of words. Never in his life did he imagine that he would ever see a vampire in such grief. Or showing any real emotions at all. But every single day, James was contradicting every single thing he was taught. The facts that even his dear friend tried to convince him to believe.

But after seeing James’ reaction to the current situation, he no longer doubted that Burr was wrong. There was no way someone was pretending to be close to someone so dearly. To feel such grief upon their loss and anger towards the one who caused all that pain.

“I miss him…”

And as he was looking at the painful expression on James’ face as he was slowly stroking the front of the glass on the frame with his thumb, Thomas actually questioned all the vigorous teaching they received about vampires being soulless creatures with no emotions. There were several emotions swirling in James’ eyes: love, pain, regret, desperation, but most prominently yearning. Yearning for something that has been lost. If someone, Thomas knew exactly what the vampire was going through.

He knew that feeling all too well. The feeling of helplessness as you watch the one(s) you hold dear to your heart being ripped out from your hold by the angry claws of death. The intense pain of not being able to see their faces or hear their voices again. The pain that even years after the loss is present as a dull ache in your heart as a constant reminder of what was once lost. The yearning to see their smiles just one more time. To be able to say that you loved them and apologise for every mistake you have ever done. The inevitable regret for not being able to help them. The immense strength required for not letting the tears fall and make you look weak in the eyes of others. Being fed up of all the pitying looks and words. Wanting nothing more than just curling up and letting it all out without any judgment.

Before Thomas realised what he was doing, he found himself by James’ side and wrapped his arms around the vampire’s body, embracing him in a firm, but still gentle hug. He heard the startled gasp and the silent question of “Thomas?”, but ignored them. He had the sudden urge to just stay there with his master and show him that he was not alone. That it was alright to cry.

If anyone told Thomas a few month ago that we was going to comfort a vampire, he would have laughed at their face. But now, he found himself gently stroking his fingers through James’ short hair, while his other hand was caressing his back as he whispered soothing words into his ears. And despite his original surprise, James realised that he trusted Thomas. That the man understood his pain without any words said. He slowly lifted his hands and by the time he realised it, he was clinging to the young male’s lapels, finally giving way to the tears he was holding back for so long. Finding comfort in the other’s man arms and presence. In the steady beat of his heart. The heart that was pumping the blood through his veins. The blood that, in any other situation, would have been alluring for James, but now found no urge to sink his teeth into Thomas’ neck. Instead, he let the sound act as an anchor, a steady factor against his urges; a rhythm that was like a lullaby for his ears at the moment.

Thomas felt the wetness at his jacket and normally would have made a fuss about it, but not now. He put his chin on the top of James’ head and closed his eyes, in an ironic way finding his own comfort in the other man’s closeness. James had a unique scent, something resembling the combination of a pine tree, honey and vanilla. But he needed to admit that it was endearing. It somehow reminded Thomas of the sweetness that his master was. A vampire, who not so long ago was touching him with such care that only a few other humans have before. A vampire, full of emotions, crying in his arm.

Based on his calm stance and even breathing however, Thomas realised that he needed to correct himself. James has actually fallen asleep in his arms!

A vampire, his natural enemy. Someone he was supposed to despise with all his being.

A vampire who, as he came to the sudden realisation, he cared about instead.


	6. The first bite

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> James arrives home in a bad state and Thomas has a change of heart

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I now present you: the new chapter!  
> With the moment most of you (I would hope) were waiting for~ 
> 
> As always, I would like to thank the ones who supported this story with their comments in the previous chapter: SaphricSphere6 and Vincey_wincey <3 And of course for the new kudos Gatlily and (I think) 3 guests!

The first time James drank from his blood was weird to say the least. It wasn’t because of the act itself, but because it was Thomas who initiated the whole thing in the first place!

When James arrived home from one of his businesses Thomas yet to know more details about, he immediately noticed that something was off. His master was clutching his jacket and did not allow Thomas to take it off upon his arrival. What was even more worrying was the slight limp he was showing on his left leg as he walked. And as the light reached his face, the young male noticed the blood on there. Which was not so weird in itself as James was prone to end up in fights if his business did not go as planned with his “clients”. However, this time, there was an obvious mark on his face above the blood where the red fluid was oozing out from.

 _A knife cut…_ Thomas, with his professional knowledge in weapons recognised the wound immediately. And knew for a fact that it was weird for vampires to attack each other with weapons as they were almost useless. With a normal knife cut, the wound would be gone within seconds no matter how deep the damage was. The blade needed to be immersed in holy water in order to cause actual damage and without special gloves, no vampire was able to hold them in their hands. Plus vampires had the capability to fight each other barehanded or preferred guns instead. Especially the nobility. Thomas occasionally saw James practicing with the sword, but never imagined his master actually needing to use the weapon unless previously challenged. Did James take part in a duel or something?

And before he realised, the question was out of his mouth as he followed the steps of the vampire. “What happened?”

“None of your business. Just bring some blood to my room. A fresher one if possible and from the stronger types.” was the strict response. It was rare to hear James give orders in such a tone, which clearly left no space for arguments. But seeing his master in pain triggered something in Thomas. Something he never in his dreams would have imagined doing. He followed James without any word, ignoring the order given, right into the vampire’s room. With a clear aim and question in his mind.

“Why haven’t you drank from my blood before?”

James was ready to go into the bathroom that was adjacent to his room but stopped in the doorway. His jacket was still around him, making it impossible to see what the real damage was. He was just about to reply, when a sudden cough stopped him. After a few seconds, he thought he was ready, but ended up in a stronger coughing fit instead. And even with his free hand covering his mouth, Thomas saw the blood trickling through his fingers, stressing the importance of the current situation even more.

He was about to say something about it, when James finally found enough strength to speak. Even out of breath, his tone was as strict as before. “I told you, I’m only taking blood from willing humans. There is a reason why we have blood piled up in the fridge.”

But his master was sick. And Thomas knew that the only way to really help him was if he drank fresh blood.

“We both know that you are not going to recover unless I do this.”

“Thomas, it’s ok. We have plenty of blood. Just bring me a glass and I will be—- “ but the rest of his sentence was cut off the moment Thomas cut his own wrist with a small knife that he took out from one of the drawers on James’ desk. Not too deep to cause serious damage, but enough to draw blood. Blood that was slowly dripping to the carpet as he held his hand out towards James with a determined expression, while the vampire was looking at him with wild, mesmerised eyes. His shoulders were shaking slightly as he was trying to fight the urge to give in to his instincts as the strong smell of fresh blood overwhelmed his senses.

“Damage done I guess. It’s up to you whether you are going to do anything about it or leave me to clean just an even bigger mess up later.”

_Drip…_

_Drip…_

James’ lips were attached to his wrist before the third drip could fall to the ground, with his fangs biting into his flesh to allow free blood flow into his mouth.

It hurt, he needed to admit. All those stories about a vampire sucking your blood being an aphrodisiac or causing you addiction were crazy! This was the real deal and Thomas needed to bite his lip to stop himself from crying out. It took him a few seconds before he managed to open one eye to see what the vampire was like in this state.

James was obviously in pain before and the single essence of fresh blood brought out a completely different side of him. He was holding Thomas’ wrist with both hands as if his life depended on it. The jacket he was clutching before slowly fell to the ground and revealed the bloody mess his master’s shirt had become before his arrival. It was clear from the colour differences that not all of the red was his blood, but the tear marks along the material were clear indications as to where all the pain was coming from.

 _More cuts…_

And as Thomas observed the wounds in more detail, the flesh looked as if it was burnt. His skin was charred under the blood. A reaction that was only possible to induce with holy water when it came to vampires….

_Did James really get into a fight with a hunter?!_

The question remained unasked for the moment, however. All that was heard was James’ gulps in the otherwise silent room as he was sucking the life-saving blood out from Thomas’ wrist with closed eyes.

As the seconds slowly passed by, Thomas could see the torn flesh slowly sewing itself back together to normal. The charred looking skin was now smooth again under the dried blood; and James’ breathing was becoming more regular and less ragged or urgent at the same time. Thomas could hear his own heart beating at this stage and he could have sworn that James’ breathing was in rhythm with his own. Or was that just the echo of his own heart? Was he imagining things from the blood loss?

His vision did start to get blurry, which he knew was a sign that he was reaching his limits. But he couldn’t get himself to stop the vampire. Instead, he found himself lifting his arm towards the other’s back, embracing James in a weak, but meaningful half-hug.

It was like a wake-up call to James’, however, who opened his eyes in shock. Like as if he just woke up from a trance. And as his eyes lifted towards the kind, but glassy, slightly drowsy ones of his butler, his mind slowly put two together. He glanced down at Thomas’ wrist which was still bleeding, but not as heavily as before. Only two small trickles from the two deep bite marks that were left there, the scar from the cut from before barely evident in between. He immediately wiped his lips with the edge of his shirt and lifted Thomas’ hand into his own, placing a small kiss on each of the marks. Vampire saliva was known to have a blood-clotting effect.

It was clear for both of them as they looked into each other’s eyes that this was an intimate moment, but none of them seemed to mind. James even whispered an “I’m sorry”, almost breaking the whole atmosphere. But Thomas just smiled at him and patted his shoulder with his free hand.

“I’m glad you are ok.”

And for the first in his life, even though he hated vampires for as long as he could remember, he actually meant it.

“But you still owe me an explanation for all this, you know?” he pointed out, but with the kindness of a smile still evident on his face. He suddenly felt extremely tired, but knew that is was to do with the blood loss and the now calm atmosphere in the room. And as he found his body slowly falling forward, he trusted the arms that wrapped around him and slowly lifted him from the ground. Despite his tall figure compared to James’, vampire strength did come in handy in these cases.

“Everything in due time Thomas. For now, let’s just get you to bed. You need to rest.” James explained, but with a smile mirroring that of his butler. “And… thank you.”

_~~~_

“With all due respect Thomas… ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR FUCKING MIND?!”

When Aaron Burr swore like that, things were serious. Like the world is going to end if you don’t stop what you were doing or planning. And Thomas knew that he had all the right reasons to be angry, but at the same time had a different insight into what happened with him as he absentmindedly touched the gauze around his wrist.

“Calm down Aaron, it’s not like I’m dead or anything. It actually wasn’t as bad as I thought either. They kind of over-exaggerate this whole biting thing to be honest.”

“Well, if you forgot, most of those victims did not ask to be bitten and were caught off-guard in the middle of night with vicious creatures tearing them apart for their pleasure and entertainment until they see the light leave their victims’ eyes… and still not stopping because they are just a bunch of fucking blood-thirsty mindless animals!”

Thomas could not be happier that they chose not to go to the cafe for this meeting, but instead hired an empty office near the base of the hunters. All hail soundproofing! 

“Aaron, I get that you are upset by what happened with Theodosia, but—“

“Don’t you dare say her name like that.”

Thomas rarely saw his friend like this. But of course he was familiar with the pain he went through and understood why he was so devastated. Why Burr could not rest until he got his hands on the vampire who allowed such grief to fall on humans by letting his spawns wander around and massacre humans as they wished.

“Aaron, don’t forget that I’ve been in your shoes and if you asked me 6 months ago, I would, without hesitation, have killed the vampire. But now…” he knew this was going to be a hard and long argument, so he took a deep breath before he went on. He needed to make this as quick as possible. Express what he saw over the past few weeks in just a few words. “I know it’s a lot to take in and ask, but believe me when I say there are good vampires out there. And James is the living proof of that.”

There was a moment of silence before Burr spoke up, but this time, with clear venom in his voice. “Thomas, don’t tell me you are going soft for a **_vampire_**?”

And for the first time in his life, Thomas was unsure what the correct answer was to say, even though he knew exactly what it was deep inside his heart. His friends, on the other hand, would not be happy to hear that. “Maybe… But Aaron—-“

“This conversation is over. When you finally open your eyes and get out from this brainwashed state of yours, let us know. Until then, it’s better if you ask for a different messenger. I don’t want to endanger the ones I love or care about because of the stupidity of a hunter who fell for a vampire.”

And with that, Burr stood up from his seat and left without even a glance back. He even shut the door with such force behind him, that it made Thomas flinch. The young male looked over at John Adams with hope in his eyes, but found no understanding or appreciation in his eyes. Gone was his shy friend with his cute, innocent smile.

“I’m sorry, Thomas, but it really is a lot to take in… Give us some time, OK? We are best friends and I have known you long enough to know that you would not make such a ridiculous and irrational step after all your speech about wanting to kill vampires without a reason. I will try and speak with Aaron, but can’t make any promises.” he stood up as well with a long sigh, before looking over at his friend. And even though his smile did not reach his eyes, at least his words were something to give Thomas hope for. “I believe you, but will need some proof before I can convince everyone else. For now, go home, have some rest and we will meet again in a month.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Burr and Adams are back~  
> I know that it has already been 6 chapters and everyone might be wondering where all the other are... I promise they are coming! There is just a certain point we need to reach in the story first. Keep in mind that even though they are gaining each others's trust, James is still hiding stuff about his business from Thomas. So I'm afraid you will need to keep waiting until the Hamilsquad comes into the story for a bit longer. But once they appear, they will stay :D  
> Everyone will have a key part in the story of course. 
> 
> See you all in the next chapter <3


	7. A different kind of craving

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> James slowly comes to the conclusion that he wants more than a single bite

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *peeks out of the corner*  
> Hi everyone!  
> I am really sorry that this chapter took so long, I just had several stuff coming up in my personal life and could not get to writing as much as I wanted to. But here is a chapter with some more fluff and emotions for you. Because I know that you all are waiting for that booom! moment.   
> Thanks everyone so much again for your continued support, it really means a lot to me <3

Months passed and by the time Thomas realised, he has been at the mansion for 6 whole months. There were just so many men killed during this time already. So many lives threatened on a daily basis. So many attempts at his master’s life that he would not have had to worry about wealth, had he got a penny for every single one of them. Heck, he would be living on paradise on a yacht by now! The only taboo for him was James’ study which he knew contained basically almost all the information he required, but he stayed patient. The room had a special key that was in his master’s possession, so he had no chance of sneaking in during the daylight while the vampire was asleep.

Plus there was the fact that his friends were getting impatient. He told them that he was getting there, they just needed to be patient, but it was apparently getting harder for Burr and Adams to convince their boss about the same thing. He wanted information, but all Thomas could say were small bits and pieces that were either considered irrelevant or ridiculous. The latter referring to the belief that there was something big going on in the background and that once Thomas gained James’ trust, they would find an even bigger halo of information than if he was just to kill the vampire in his sleep. For the moment, he was met with deaf ears.

But Thomas cared about none of these issues for now. He just carried on with life as if it was completely normal to hear screams in the background while he was preparing the table for dinner. Or to clean up massive blood stains from the carpet that not so long ago was decorated with corpses. Why? Because he simply did not _care_. As long as there was a roof above his head and food on his plate and he was on the trusted side, his master could have been the head of the most dangerous vampire society for all he cared. Oh wait a second! He almost was, but only one of the most prestigious heirs at the moment.

_It was all going well, until James snapped…_

“Behave!” that was the command resonating in the room after Thomas decided to ignore every warning and just go sassing about to all visitors in the mansion. James could not let it go on forever. He was sure that the young male was inevitably digging his own grave. And he was not going to just let him dig any deeper now. He had enough. He could not lose another butler!

“Or what?” Thomas questioned with no fear in his eyes, which caused James to raise an eyebrow. This guy… Did he not realise that he was threatened by a fucking _vampire_ who could snap his neck within a blink of an eye with no regrets? That he could be replaced by any other humans he could get from the slave market. Even if that was not completely true… The challenge must have been clear in his eyes, because what Thomas did surprised him even further.

“Go on. Kill me if you want. It’s not like I cannot be replaced, right?”

Was he reading his mind or what? What game was he playing? Was he trying to annoy him because sure as heck he was doing an amazing job at that! Which was evident from James’ fuming and heavy breathing. But despite it all, he just couldn’t get himself to kill the human. Thomas’ composure and steady eyes proved that he was not going to back up from the threat of being killed right on the spot.

“Why are you so calm? All other humans would be begging for their life at this stage.” growled James as he yanked Thomas’ face closer to his by his hair. Did anyone mention that he was not in a good mood? Like at all… His fangs were giving a dangerous glint in the dark, but Thomas still showed no signs of fear as he looked directly into those red orbs.

“But I’m not other humans, am I?” he retorted with a grin instead, going as far as to lift his hand to James’ lips and softly grazing his fangs with his index finger, but at the same time making sure he did not draw blood. The action caused James to shudder as his fangs were the most sensitive part on this body. Every vampire knew this. Touching someone’s fangs could be described as a sensual act, which no human should be so casual about. Ever! But Thomas acted as if it was the most casual thing in the world. “You skipped your evening brushing. How are your teeth going to be healthy if you neglect them like this, eh?”

_This human… how could he walk on thin ice as if the water under was a hot bath and not a freezing death trap? As if his life was not in the hand of the vampire holding him? As if he was the one who held power over Madison?_

“Jemmy, dear.”

_Say what now?!_

“The sun is coming up. You should go to sleep soon. It is my duty as your butler to ensure you don’t miss your beauty sleep at least. Especially after staying up so late to go out with your friends the other night. Now would you be a darling and let me go so I can prepare your medication?” he touched James’ face with a smile, slowly caressing his cheek with his thumb.

The gentle contact caused pleasant shivers to go through his spine. He couldn’t help it and was already unconsciously leaning towards Thomas’ hand as he closed his eyes with a small sigh.

It was now official: Thomas Jefferson was out of his mind. But James just enjoyed his company and touches too much to do anything about it.

~~~

It took some time. Actually months for James to realise that he was craving for more. What started as small touches gradually became more noticeable. Like Thomas stroking his hair when he was trying to fall back asleep after a nightmare. Like Thomas’ fingers accidentally grazing his as he passed him his glass of blood. Like Thomas’ hands staying on his body for longer than necessary during a bath when James’ sickness got over his body and he had no energy to move on his own.

The lingering touches just caused his mind to go into overdrive and could not calm down. He could not deny it any longer. He wanted Thomas to touch him more intimately. He wanted to explore Thomas’ body as well. To kiss him senseless until the butler just forgot his name and was gasping for air to fill his empty lungs desperately. To feel every part of him as their bodies became one. To—

“Master, are you listening?”

“Huh?” he looked up at the sound and realised that Thomas was waving a hand in front of his face with an impatient expression.

“Geeee! I asked would you like to take your bath now or finish your work first? I see you don’t have much left so I guess another half an hour will not be the end of the world.”

_What I would like is to push you down on this desk and fuck you until you—- No James, not the right time now. You do want to enjoy your nice warm bath that Thomas took time to prepare with such efficiency and detail like all the time before… Definitely better than trying to get over a hard-on in a cold shower._

“It’s fine.” he coughed to hide his embarrassment, but did avoid the other man’s gaze before it became evident that his mind was somewhere else. At the moment one look at Thomas would have been enough to make him forget what he was even working on. “Just prepare the bath, I should be finished in about 15 minutes anyway.”

“If you say so. But just to let you know, your paper is going to be a smudgy mess if you won’t continue writing soon.” was Thomas’ unconvinced reply as he pointed to the paper in front of his master. Which, apparently was getting soaked by the ink blotch that was left from his unmoving pen.

“Oh fuck!” grumbled James as he immediately put the pen back to its holder and tried to salvage the mess by at least removing the dirty paper and cleaning up the ink that was soaked under on the desk with a tissue. Lucky he was used to taking individual papers instead of writing on a stack.

~~~

It wasn’t until another big night out with his friends that James finally gave in to his cravings. It was evident that he drank more than he should have on the way back home, but Thomas did not comment, just drove back to the mansion without a word, with small glances over his master to make sure he was not going to be sick any time soon.

It was surprising for him to see his master needed a drive at the first place and asked him instead of their usual driver, but one look at James was enough to answer why he did not want others to see him in his current state. He was unable to walk straight on his own and was a blabbering mess, but none of those words made sense. Fortunately for James, he had one of his friends - was it Laurens? Thomas couldn’t bother much to ask for his name, just thanked the young man before turning his attention back to a very drunk James - to help him out before Thomas took over.

They did have a safe journey, the only difficulty was Thomas needing to carry a by then heavily slumped James up the stairs to the vampire’s room. Where he successfully landed with an “umph” on his bed. All seemed fine and Thomas was sure that he might be able to leave his master to just sleep the whole thing off. He even managed to change the man into his pyjama and tuck him into his sheets.

He was about to leave when he heard it. The barely audible, but still clear murmur of James from the bed that was muffled by the pillow his face was pressed into.

“Thomas… I need you.”

What followed could have been a simple routine. Thomas obediently sitting down on the bed, removing his necktie and unbuttoning the top of his shirt, so he could give James the perfect access to this neck. Despite the initial awkwardness, Thomas became a willing donor to James on quite a few occasions in the path months, which James savoured with utter gratefulness. Thomas’ blood was strong and unique in taste as the vampire described. It gave him more strength than most other bloods before. Thomas had a feeling it was related to his training and real identity, but was not willing to give the slightest hint about it at all. Fortunately for him, James had not taken blood from a hunter before, so could not notice the similarity or put an explanation to the effect Thomas’ blood had on his system. You could say that James was now partially addicted, but the young male did not care.

Thomas was also used to James not being so gentle or taking more than usual when he was drunk, so was already prepared. What he was not expecting was James crawling up behind him and slowly caressing his neck, his chest, his side and his stomach. A small gasp left his lips, but he tried to keep his voice to a minimum, even as James started to nimble on his neck. But instead of taking a bite, he was just sucking on the skin as if he was trying to claim him and leave a mark for everyone to see. A different mark from the one that he already bore on the side of his neck from the several bites his master had taken before.

“Master… what are you doing?” he managed to say, but couldn’t hold back his moan as the touches became more sensual and intimate. It soon became evident what James’ intentions were. And hell Thomas was not going to stop him!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I will be honest guys, I'm like one of the worst people to ever attempt a mature scene, so I don't really expect to write details about it... but you all know what's happening anyway!  
> And before anyone runs away thinking that why is James a dom in this chapter - key word is THIS chapter. Thomas is going to have his fun as well later on of course! He just kind of wanted to let the drunk James have all the fun for now since you know... he hasn't had any fun in a while either! 
> 
> Anyways, feedback is welcome as always and I will try and update the next chapter by the end of this week :)


	8. A/N - not a chapter!

Hi everyone!

I know I said I will update a chapter by the end of last week (which is actually now 2 weeks as it is Monday), but before anyone gets scared, I have NOT abandoned the story at all.  
I just had several stuff coming up in my personal life and then I got sick (yep, you guessed correctly, it was corona). I didn't need hospitalisation, but I was still sick, so I just couldn't get myself to write anything, so sorry! 

But now I am back to healthy (yay!) and I will try and update within the next few days. 

I am really sorry that it was taking this long and thanks for your patience <3


	9. What's next?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> James is worried about what happened, but there is more trouble when Burr and Adams find out

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am baaaaack (and stronger than before with immunity, haha)!!!!
> 
> Gosh, can I just say how GRATEFUL I am to you guys??? I seriously felt like crying (in the good sense) after seeing all your kind comments. So let me dedicate this new chapter to you:  
> Vincey_wincey, Tigerplossom, SaphricSphere6 and Butter_Cloud. Love you guys ❤❤❤❤ !!!

It has been a while since he has been together with someone. If the soreness and the painful moans were not indication enough. But Thomas did not mind at all. The opposite! His still foggy mind partially remembered begging for more earlier that night. Despite being a vampire, James knew exactly how fragile humans were and used his strength over him just the perfect way not to cause damage but to elicit the best responses from Thomas’ body.

And there was the massage… The kind gesture he was offered to ease the pain on his hips and waist. Never in his mind would have Thomas ever imagined a vampire, his master at that, apologising for being rough and offering him a massage to ease the pain.

“Jemmy, darling, there is no way I’m going to complain about your roughness as it was really satisfactory and pleasant. Plus there will be a time when the tables will turn, I tell you that. But on the other hand, I’m not a person to deny a kindly offered massage like that.” was his response at the time. He even winked at James and felt the vampire shiver at the touch as he was slowly tracing his fingers along his broad back.

In a bizarre way, Thomas felt… safe and happy, as he was now looking at the content, but still worried look on his master’s face.

And oh James had a secret talent with his fingers! And not just the sexual way of course, but as he was rubbing the lavender scented salve over his waist, he felt all the tension and soreness gradually leave his body. He was sure he was going to turn into a jelly by the end of this whole session.

“Hmmm. If I didn’t knew any better, I would swear that you are trying to make me incompetent to move, darling~”

That earned a chuckle from James. “I am glad to hear it helps. I got this salve from a friend.“

“Does this friend happen to be the same who got you the chest rub thing?”

“… Yes? Anyways, he got if from France. Apparently they have the best cosmetics there.”

That topic definitely cheered the younger male up.

“That they do! You know what? I want to meet this friend of yours. It would be nice to have a detailed chat with someone on the same page. I’m afraid my French skills might go to waste if I don’t start to practice any time soon. I haven’t used the language for like… god knows how long.” he murmured, but the pillow he was pressing his face into muffled most of what he was saying. But James being James and knowing Thomas quite well by now managed to understand most of it.

“You know French?”

“Hm. I actually lived there for a few years. But never mind that. You were talking about me meeting this wonderous friend of yours? Or maybe even more of them! I never actually got to do much yesterday. just saw one of their faces, but he was definitely not French I tell you that. He was too cute and innocent looking for that. It was a young guy… Laurent?”

James could not help, but smile at that. Another example of how Thomas liked to twist his ideas into making it look like it was James who came up with it the first place. Just to convince him to do what the young male wanted.

“Well, I could arrange something later on I guess. But one at a time. I don’t want to bombard you with all my friends at once. And just for your information, his name was Laurens, not Laurent.”

“To-may-to, to-mah-to.” Thomas looked up from his pillow with his trademark smirk, his eyes telling more than his words already. “But Jemmy darling, are you by any chance worried about me?”

And despite his dark skin, Thomas was sure he saw a light blush make his way onto his master’s face at those words. “I just don’t want to overwhelm you with all of them at once. They can be quite the package you know. Sometimes even I wonder how I survive any encounters with them.”

Thomas so wanted to tell him then that he used to be the center of attention back in the hunter’s club. He was sure he would have had no problem meeting all these so-called friends all at once. But he also knew he needed to keep his personal life as much of a secret as possible. So instead, he kept quiet and only acknowledged the words with a hum.

A comfortable silence settled between them as James massaged Thomas’ side and seeing his approval, back as well. His movements started to gradually slow down, however, until his fingers just rested on the top of Thomas’ back. Who looked up at the vampire with a frown.

“What’s up Jemmy? After yesterday, I would think you had a better stamina in your fingers and not just your body.” he commented with the same smug smirk as before, but his expression soon fell as he saw the other’s face. James was avoiding his eyes and his shoulders were visibly tense. Thomas started to feel a slight twitch coming from the vampire’s fingers on his back after a few seconds of silence as well. Until…

“Where does this leave us?”

“Ha? You need to be more specific than that, you know.” asked Thomas, but got no response. His frown did not settle until he saw how uncomfortable James was getting under the tension of the situation. He even gulped audibly, which normally, Thomas would have made fun of, but not now. He started to put two together and seeing his master’s troubled face, all he wanted to do was comfort the man. And that is exactly what he did as he slowly sat up and before James could object or question him, he silenced him with a short kiss. Leaving the bulkier man completely out of speech. And at that moment, the young male’s suspicion was confirmed.

“Jemmy, my darling.” Thomas started as he gently caressed the other’s face with the back of his hand. “You need not to worry. There is no obligation to put a title on this. I don’t mind having fun with you occasionally. Or whenever actually. You don’t even need to give me a warning. Just follow your instinct, ok?” he smiled, but then shook his head. “Wait, that sounds stupid, saying to a vampire. Anyway, I have no objection to having sex with you. Just don’t start to fuck someoneelse behind my back without first discussing with me, ok? Wait, that sounded stupid again! What I meant was—-“ but a kiss silenced him before he could finish that sentence. This one deeper and more sensational, even provoking a small moan from Thomas, before he lifted his hand to James’ neck to pull him closer and deepen the gesture even further.

_Fuck the rules!_ was the only thought circling in his mind as he let himself get lost in the moment. He was certainly not going to let this opportunity go. Even if it meant breaking his promise and vow to the hunters. If he told his 1 year younger self that he was going to let a vampire have sex with him, that he would enjoy it and soon find his own dominance occasionally at such scenarios; he would have laughed at the ridiculousness of it all. Would have accused himself of being out of it. But still, as James was slowly stroking his side and made his way down to his ass, firmly grabbing and squeezing it, he was reminded about the reason why he was not opposing the idea in the present at all. And when James bit into his neck this time, he lost his mind for a whole other reason.

Well, he did say to follow his instincts.

_~~~_

“So let me get this straight… You have been at his mansion for almost a year now. You had several opportunities to kill or threaten him. To gain all the information you needed. Instead, you are not only following a stupid belief that he could be a good vampire, but also let him fuck you? I think I phrased this as a question before, but need to correct myself now. You are officially out of your mind Thomas.”

And this meeting was exactly why Thomas did not want to leave the mansion. Things were going well now - well, at least considering where he started a year ago - but every time he was to report to Burr and Adams, he was met with even further doubts from them. Even Adams, who has always been supportive of his decisions seemed hesitant at this stage.

“How do you know I’m not doing this all to fool him and earn his trust?” Thomas challenged, but was met with a frown from Burr, sitting opposite him.

“Are you?”

_Touche._

He could have just easily lied to them of course, but their friendship meant more to him. Plus if he wanted to get his message across the management, he needed his friends’ trust and support first. Even if that hope was really hard to cling onto at the moment with all the frowns and questions he got from them.

“Well… Oh come on Aaron, I was hoping that at least you guys will believe me of all people! Where has our trust gone? Are you saying that you are going to just throw our friendship away just because I am stating some facts that seem bizarre for the hunter minds like you?”

_Oh oh… but he realised his mistake a second too late…_

“Like us? Thomas, are you saying that you no longer consider yourself a hunter?” this time it was Adams, who was looking at his friend with such horror in his eyes, all Thomas wanted was to get up from his chair and hug the poor soul. But he knew that would have been unprofessional at this moment and that clearing his name was priority.

“No, I am of course one of you as well. I just think that we should reconsider our options.” he started and then turned to his other friend. “You can deny it as much as you want, but I see things Aaron. Have seen a lot. And believe me when I say that James is different from the rest of them. And that he could be the key to the change that we have all been waiting for. I just need some more time to get my hands on his papers and see what’s going on behind closed doors. His friends are plotting something I tell you. I’m just not sure what or who the trusted parties are yet. But I am really close.”

Thomas’ voice was surprisingly calm as he spoke. And despite looking into his eyes for a few seconds with the utmost of severity in the world, like as if he was trying to read his soul and find the smallest traces of a lie or fear - which was exactly what he was doing - Burr found nothing but truth and confidence there. Burr, who was known for reading people like an open book just from one single look. But how could he trust Thomas’ gut feeling when there was so much at stake and everyone was just getting impatient? Was it worth all the trouble for something that was just a silly assumption at this stage?

“I’m sorry Thomas, but this is just too much to take in. Believe me when I say I want to believe you, but… you are trying to ally up with the enemy here. And even if you managed to get away with it up until now, it’s going to come biting you in the end. If you won’t do it, you know the boss is going to send someone else in to do your job eventually. And you are going down with that vampire of yours as well if that happens.” he sighed, massaging his temples as if that was going to take the stress away.

Adams, noticing his friends’s distress, stretched his hand towards him and started to rub gentle circles into his upper arm and shoulder, whilst talking to the male across the table. “He is right Thomas. You know that we are just worried about you, right? It’s not a question of trust anymore. It’s about fearing for the life of our friend.”

Thomas was unsure what to say. He knew that he was right. He just didn’t have the means to prove it to his friends yet. All he needed was the free access he was missing to James’ study and the list of the names he was associated with, together with his relationship with them. The reasons behind meetings his master attended outside the mansion that he knew nothing about. All he had was looks and assumptions to work with, but learning from James’ experience, all the information they had on files could turn out to be wrong. The most feared vampires might be the ones they need to reach their goal using their influence in the community. It was just not something James readily talked about yet or shared much information about. Even after all this time, it was something he could not trust Thomas with, because of the privacy of the vampire nobility.

“I will bring you solid proof. Just give me some more time, ok?”

Another uncomfortable silence settled over the room. During which Thomas kept gazing across the room, hoping for the smallest of sign of acknowledgment from his friends. But the longer he waited, the more he realised that what he found was further doubt and fear in their eyes instead.

Until…

“There is no stopping you I guess.” Burr’s sentence broke the silence and to Thomas surprise, with a smaller smile on this face this time, causing the same expression to be mirrored on Thomas’ face.

“When was it ever?”

“Alright. At least let us help you.” Burr said as he took a folded piece of paper out from his vest’s pocket and handed it to his friend. “I know you are still trying to track the guys James is around based on looks only, so this is something to make sure you don’t get into unnecessary trouble. This is the list of the vampires who are currently on the wanted list, with images as identification. These guys are serious business. If you see any of them, as usual, report anything to us immediately, but avoid them as much as possible. Just the bare minimum is ok for now. We have lost several men because of these guys already and it would be a shame to lose all the progress you made just because of a reckless mistake.”

Adams gulped, before confirming the words with a small nod. “He is right. Be careful Thomas, ok? If you see one of them, don’t get yourself into trouble. Better to avoid them and let the skilled vampires or hunters deal with them. Whoever gets to them first.”

“What John is trying to say is don’t do anything stupid. I know it is tempting to prove yourself, but this is not the right time for that. And don’t forget that it could blow your cover. This is not a request for action, but a warning, so that you can avoid them, but still report any suspicious activity or involvement to us. Leave the dirty work to someone better prepared.”

_Because Thomas was well known for laying low in danger_ \- feel the overwhelming sarcasm there.


	10. Proving himself

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thomas finally gets the chance to prove his loyalty to James... but will the vampire think the same?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anyone ready for some badass Thomas~ ?
> 
> I posted this chapter 2 days ago, but I think the update was affected by the issues AO3 was experiencing on the day... so I will try again now, hopefully you will all get notification/can see it now!

All was going well for a while. Thomas was actually true to his words and was avoiding trouble, concentrating on earning his master’s trust instead. Which was turning out to be a pain in the ass. What was he missing? Why was James still so hesitant? What was there to hide that not even the human who he had no trouble sharing intimate moments with could see?

He knew he was losing his patience, but he could not give up so close to the finish line. Once he got his hands on the information he needed, he could use it to not only turn his boss’ understanding around, but also gain previously preposterous allies on the way.

And that day, together with the opportunity he has been waiting for came when he was least expecting it…

Nothing seemed off at first. He dutifully escorted James’ guest to his master’s meeting room and left right after hearing their greetings. He was exploiting the time to work on his report. While the memory of the vampire guest was still fresh in his mind and his presence was not requested. He just needed to ensure that he brought hot cups of blood for his master and his guest about halfway through their meeting. But he had an alarm set up exactly for that reason.

He knew that these were the perfect times when he could work in peace without getting caught or disturbed. He even managed to hide his true identity from the other employees at the mansion - but to be fair, there were barely any of them at the first place and most of them took turns at work anyway.

Something was bothering him this time though, but he could just not figure out where the feeling was coming from. And not even his usual chamomile tea or incense could help calm his nerves.

“Why does this guy look familiar…?” he was thinking out loud. It would have been a pain to go through all his notes - which were well hidden - just to put a name behind the face. The report was more urgent at the moment. If the guy was anything special, he was sure Burr will be able to pick it up just from a single description. His friend had like a photographic memory.

_“Wait, Burr, that’s it!”_

He immediately started to rummage through his drawer - which was also locked before, even though he was inside the room the whole time, in case he needed to leave urgently or unexpectedly - looking for that one single folded up paper. And once he managed to locate it, the uneasy feeling in his gut was getting worse with every second he was going through the list. The list of wanted vampires that Burr gave him. And his stomach dropped the moment he recognised one of the faces.

Before this day, he has never seen any of the vampires from the wanted lists - hence the reason why he never had such a bad feeling before. But the vampire in one of the pictures was the very same one who was in James’ meeting room at that moment. And Thomas didn’t need to be a genius to know that meant real trouble. There was no way that James was having a discussion with one of these guys for his benefit.

Unless… James himself didn’t know that vampire meant trouble.

Thomas knew that it could blew his cover. He knew that he was risking everything the moment he got up from his chair in a hurry. There wasn’t even a guarantee that James’ guest was a dangerous vampire. It could well have been just another case where the hunters judged a noble vampire wrongly. And if Thomas was to interrupt their meeting and most probably cause some havoc, he will be questioned for sure. But the thought of losing James was even scarier at that moment, so he was willing to take the risk. As long as it meant that his master will survive. His gut feeling was, in most of the cases at least, right.

What was it he told James that night after their first time together?

_“Just follow your instincts…”_

And that is exactly what he did. He was moving purely following what he felt was right. Not even thinking about where he was going or why. All he knew was that he needed to hurry. And what hunter would he be if he was not prepared? Was he going to risk even more by using his own gun in this battle? Probably… But the risk of not making it in time by looking for something of use in James’ weaponry held an even bigger threat, so Thomas took the more familiar gun out of its hidden compartment, before making his way out of his room, making a dash for the meeting room.

He opened the door with such vigour, he was sure to scare the ones inside if they were having a regular meeting only. But instead of a calm discussion between the two vampires, what he saw made made him see red.

James was held up by his throat, pushed to the wall by his guest. Who Thomas could now identify as Henry Dearborn. One of the most feared assassins in the vampire’s group that even the hunters knew about. Or at least that’s how they looked at him. He was the reason the hunters lost 15 men in just a single week. He was a real professional and left almost no signs behind, making it impossible for the hunters to track him down. And due to his vampiric speed, he always waited to show his face and see the devastation of the witnesses discovering the dead bodies of their comrades or loved ones, before making his exit.

And Thomas recognised the knife in his hand. Or at least the dangerous gleam from the holy water it was previously immersed in. If the fact that the assassin was wearing gloves was not indication enough.

He was going to be a fool if he let himself become one of those witnesses. And before he realised what he was doing, a gunshot echoed through the room. Followed by a cry of pain and the thump of a body on the ground. The latter being James, who was now on the ground, trying to catch his breath; while Henry was clutching his injured wrist. Thomas made the perfect shot to make the assassin drop his knife as well as let go of his master from the sudden attack and pain. And the bullet, unlike a regular one was designed to have a lasting effect in a vampire’s body, giving him the distraction he needed to get to the scene, just in time for Henry to look up at him with a growl.

“You bloody bastard, how dare you—“

But before he could finish his sentence, he was met with a fist directly in his face that had enough strength behind it to make him stagger. Which was shortly followed by a perfectly executed kick to the side to make sure he ended up on the ground, right before Thomas stepped on his back. He was not going to let the guy who almost killed his master go easily.

“I said make yourself at home. That definitely did not include threatening my master, I am afraid.”

“You… son of a—“ but that was the last thing he said before another gunshot was fired. A shot that now made sure that the man will not utter a single word ever again. The body of the vampire soon lost its shape and all was left behind was a pile of ash in its place. And the clothes he wore that night.

“I hope you did not want to get any information out from him as it might be too late for that.” Thomas said as he turned to his shocked master, still lying on the ground. He offered a helping hand, which James took, with gratitude and soon was completely sitting up with his back being supported by the wall. He was not new to threats, but he still needed some time to collect himself.

“I… I did not know you were so skilled with a gun…” he commented with a frown.

“Oh Jemmy, dear! There are so many things you don’t know about me.” Thomas winked ….He did not seem phased by what happened at all. It looked as if shooting a man was a natural thing for him to do. Which obviously raised even more questions in James’ mind as the fog slowly started to clear once he got enough oxygen into his system.

“Don’t look at me like that, it’s creepy and not like you! Seriously… Please tell me that this motherfucker here held no information that was like crucial for your work. I know how much sleep you have been missing because of his activity.” Thomas pointed to the large pile of paperwork stashed on the desk. To be fair, he was just taking a random guess based on the observations from the past days.

It all made sense now. This was the guy who his master kept murmuring about being foolish and using his power recklessly…Henry was not only causing troubles for the hunters, but the vampire nobility had problems with him too. So James most probably - as the person looking after the territory - was asked to take care of the guy or at least question his motives. By his so vigilant father who did not even consider the fact that James himself might get into serious danger if he was to deal with a guy like that alone.

Not like Thomas doubted his master. He did lose count of the number of corpses around the mansion after about 3 months. But this time, his gut instinct was right to have a bad feeling and come to James’ rescue instead of laying low in his room.

“How do you—? Never mind.” James sighed. He knew there was no point in questioning Thomas’ knowledge. James did have the habit of falling asleep over his work, so it should have been no surprise that Thomas might had the chance to skim through the paperwork without him realising it. What he didn’t know was that all that information was insufficient for Thomas to come to clear conclusions. “He was just someone I worked with once. To be more specific, he was under my command, but after a serious mistake, I ordered for his immediate release. I guess he either still held a grudge or was hired by someone to do the job for them. I’m not the most popular among some people you know?”

_Plus he was going around killing several hunters and vampires at the first place, so he was the perfect man to do the job for whoever wanted James out of the picture._ But this was something for Thomas’ conclusion only. He could not reveal that he was well aware of the now dead vampire’s identity. Plus the fact about him having been sacked by James before was new to the young hunter. Definitely something to add to his report about the assassin later on.

“Well, I’m sorry to break this on you, but you are hiding a hell lot of stuff, so I didn’t even know you were the type of person to leave such a bad impression on someone. I mean, the guy was going to kill you!” he said dramatically. Even though he knew that was not the complete truth. But this was the opening he needed to emphasise his lack of trust in him.

But even if James understood the meaning behind his words, he did not acknowledge it. Instead, he was observing the gun in his butler’s hand with a frown. He was too occupied by what just happened to even notice it before. It had an intricate design and the vampire came to a simple conclusion.

“I’ve never seen this model in the weaponry before.”

Thomas froze for a second. He knew, just by following the vampire’s gaze what he was referring to. But luckily for him, he was well known for twisting these situations to his advantage.

“I’m sorry if you don’t account for every single weapon in that room. Seriously James, even with that smart mind of yours, there is no shame in not remembering all that. To be fair, I just grabbed the closest one I found. There wasn’t even a guarantee it’s going to be useful against a vampire, so you can call it a lucky guess.”

Thomas was not sure if it worked. James’ expression was hardest to read when he needed that skill the most. But after a short silence, his master looked into his eyes with such severity, even the young male knew that James was now most obviously suspicious of his background. Especially once the vampire grabbed his collar and pulled him closer to his face. But this was definitely not one of those sensual moments they shared before. There was an obvious threat in James’ eyes.

“You do realise that I should kill you for what you have just witnessed and knowing what I just shared with you, right?”

“But you won’t.” was Thomas’ confident reply. His smirk was proof enough that he was not afraid. He was holding James’ gaze the whole time, not showing the slightest hint of fear. Not even when his master opened the drawer by him that was holding his secret knife that he stored there in case of emergency. The glint of the knife apparent for the eyes of a hunter like Thomas, even when partially hidden.

Instead, he grabbed his wrist before James could pull the weapon out of the drawer. “I know you Jemmy. You are not going to risk losing what we have just because of this incident. On the contrary.” he continued his previous thought as he slowly started to stroke James’ side with his free hand, feeling the other man shudder under his touch. “You are proud as fuck to have a butler who can kick some ass when you are too blind to notice that someone is back in your life to kill you and not for some friendly negotiation following your father’s advice.”

“I’m not blind!” James tried to protest, but his words were soon replaced by a soft gasp as Thomas kissed his neck in the softest way he ever did before. His touch was slow and kind as he kissed his way up to his master’s ear and started to nibble on it playfully.

“Admit it Jemmy. You are never going to get rid of me. You would miss me too much~” the smirk was evident in Thomas’ voice as he slid his hand under James’ shirt.

“Stop calling me that.”

And the next thing Thomas knew, his shoulder was grabbed by James and the vampire pushed him firmly against the table. He was still panting slightly and despite his dark complexion, Thomas could now see the slightest hint of a blush under the bright light of the room. Which just made him grin even wider, even though their positions have now obviously changed. And he knew from experience that once James settled his mind on something, there was no going back. And based on the fact that the previous doubt was now replaced by lust in his eyes and the way he started to fumble with Thomas’ vest hastily, it was clear that despite the previous shock, Thomas had his strong and dominant master back. Looks like he will have to submit to his wishes this time again.

“There is the Jemmy I know~“

It might have been the shock from before or the fact that Thomas was already lying below him with a bare upper body, his eyes begging for James to ravage him right there on the desk, but the vampire was certain about one thing and voiced the thought that was circling through his mind. The need that he just couldn’t resist after seeing Thomas with such dominance and power, killing a vampire with such precision and no hesitation. Despite the ridiculousness of it all, he found it sexy.

“Just shut up and kiss me already.” was his final response which Thomas complied without any hesitation, grabbing the other’s man neck from behind and pulling him close to press their lips together. The tables might actually turn within the next few minutes as long as the young male was concerned. There was another show he could put on for his master’s sake.

Speaking of show…

“By the way, I hope you realise that you have now unconsciously promoted yourself to be my bodyguard.” was what James said before catching Thomas’ lips in another heated kiss.

_Like heck Thomas minded that!_

After all that wait, he finally earned the trust he has been waiting for. And oh victory never tasted better!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A longer chapter yay~ And I can't believe there wasn't even a cut scene in there!  
> I hope you all enjoyed this, this was actually my personal favourite to write so far :D 
> 
> By the way, Henry was a real guy and James really was the reason he was sacked from the army after he made a biiiig and really silly mistake, so I felt he would be the right person to use here.
> 
> Also, because you were all so nice, I will let you on a little secret. I hope you are craving for the Hamilsquad becaaauuse *drom roll and insert a dramatic break here* Hamilton is coming in the next chapter ;)
> 
> See you all next time~


	11. The council

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thomas attends his first council meeting and meets Hamilton.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Everyone buckle up: HAMILTON HAS ARRIVED!!!

It came as no surprise that Thomas was now allowed into the study of James without any concerns or questions from his master’s side. The vampire trusted him and was not afraid of Thomas possibly leaking information out about him. Meaning that Thomas finally had much more insight into how things were operating behind closed doors and what his master has been up to all this time.

And that’s how he learnt about the small group of vampires that formed a council, hiding in one of the most influential vampire’s manor, trying to come up with a plan to overthrow the current tyranny of the king. Turns out, despite all the influence they had, James was not the only noble vampire fed up with the way the system was operating. How their species was considered a threat and hunters killing their companions on a daily basis. And vice versa.

This was just perfect! This is exactly what Thomas was hoping for. And even better. He now knew that James was not the only vampire who wanted a change. Meaning that with the proper amount of proof and hopefully not so bloody introductions, the hunters from his base and James’ union could join forces and reach the goal many of them have thought impossible before. There were just only three problems..

One: James still knew nothing about Thomas’ true identity.

Two: he still needed more physical proof to convince his friends to try and at least hear the vampires out.

And three… even the council had their inner contradictions. And an even louder, tenacious and - based on James’ description at least - hot-headed voice of those contradicting ideas. And that voice was Alexander Hamilton. Who was not only favoured by the “leader” of their council- or as they liked to call him, the “president” - but also had his friends to support his ideals. He was originally, as Thomas learnt, just an ordinary vampire, but worked his way up the ladder by showing his potential as an advisor to George Washington, the president of the council. He became his right-hand man and it was actually under Hamilton’s persuasion that the union was formed at the first place. Claiming that he had friends they could use with different skills and insights. And as their group gained more popularity, they started to have an even wider variety of supporters. Including James himself.

But no matter his influence outside the council, it was hard for James to gain enough supporters within the council when it came to final decisions. Even if Hamilton’s ideas were not always dangerous, there were several cases when James was sure that someone needed to tell him off. But there was just no stopping the guy. He was able to talk for hours just to get his points across. But after talking about what’s going on for a while and seeing his drafts, Thomas was convinced that more of James’ ideas should have been brought forward or at least considered. Instead, he was more of the silent lamb now, just contributing to whatever tasks he was given and trying to at least implement his ideas via these drafts.

“You know, I get that he is strong and that the president is on his side and whatnot, but you should really try and stand up for yourself. You have beliefs James and they all make perfect sense. You should not let some blatant, sassy-ass vampire tell you what’s right and what’s not just because he thinks so.” Thomas commented as he was going through some notes from James’ latest work. “These are actually really good ideas. Why haven’t you raised any of these before?”

“You don’t understand Thomas. He is a really vocal and opinionated vampire. One time, he talked for 6 hours about how certain principles of the current vampire constitution should be changed. What many of us didn’t realise was that he was basically aiming for the same system in a sense, but with a different leader and approach to the current perception about the relationship between humans and vampires. But his idea about how the system would be set up and the policies implemented was no different to the current situation.”

“Well fuck it then. You said you were friends before—“

“Still are, just in opposing parties, but go on.”

“Riiiiight.” Thomas drawled and James was certain he did that on purpose. If the grin that followed was not proof enough. “Screw him and his beliefs! You know what, next time I will go with you. Maybe he will learn to shut the fuck up when someone speaks up.”

“You know it’s not that easy. You are not part of the council plus—-“

“Blah blah blah. Excuses James! I’m even willing to risk all those crazy vampires sucking my blood dry if if means that someone finally shows this Hamilton guy where the shoe fits.”

James chuckled. “You know it’s funny. Those were his exact words when one of the members criticised the smallest of things about his essays.”

“So he’s writing essays now?!”

“Yeah…. He was actually part of a big project with me at the beginning of all this revolution. Long story short, the guy ended up working his ass off and wrote 51 essays in 6 months.”

Thomas hummed. For a long time, that lasted at least 30 whole seconds, before he slammed his hands down on the desk so hard, even James jumped up in his seat. “You know what? I changed my mind. One visit will not be enough for this. I want to be part of your party and debate the hell out of this guy.”

That definitely surprised James, who blinked at his butler - now also bodyguard - as if he grew two heads. Was he seriously considering a suicide mission?

“Thomas, as I said, it’s not that easy…”

But the young male was not that easy to convince. In a sense, he was similar to the so called Hamilton. Once he set his mind on something, there was no changing course until he reached what he wanted. “Jemmy darling. I hope you realise this was not a request, but a statement.”

And this time, the audible sigh, while he was holding his temple should have been warning enough from James’ side. “You really are going to dig your grave with this, you know.”

But Thomas being Thomas just smirked at his master and leaned closer to his face as a response. “Are you worried about me~ ?”

“Just…” James could feel his cheeks heat up, so tried to avoid his bodyguard’s gaze. How could he admit that he indeed was worried what placing a human between a bunch of vampires would do. No matter his previous experience with Thomas’ hidden skills, he did not want to risk losing him as well. Not again. One loss was enough. But all he could do was sigh again, hoping that his concern would be transmitted via this gesture only. He was by now well familiar with Thomas’ resilience and resolve. “I will see what I can do.”

Even if Thomas picked up on his master’s worry, he showed no sign of being scared himself. Instead, his cheerful attitude just grew more apparent. But at the same time, he didn’t want to cause too much stress to his master, so he approached James from the back and started to massage his shoulders. He knew that the vampire was not aware of Thomas’ actual skills and that facing even 20 vampires at a time was still a situation the hunter could come out of as a victor. All James had was the memory of seeing the man he loved being ripped apart by a bunch of vampires. So it was time to cheer him up.

“Don’t forget that I am considered to be your bodyguard now. They cannot oppose me accompanying you with that title.”

That did earn a small smile from James. Thomas was right. He earned that title for a reason. Maybe this was just another test he needed to pass. To be fair, James was already certain that Thomas had more up his sleeves, but having the opportunity to see what he was capable of in real life… did sound appealing. “You are impossible.”

“But you love me.”

Whether that was intended as a joke or actual words was something none of them knew at the time. But it was not something to worry about either. Thomas was too excited about the concept of being able to attend an official vampire council meeting; while James was grateful for the chance that Thomas might be able to see why he didn’t want to oppose Hamilton at the first place. Or at least out loud.

~~~

It took another month before James finally completely gave in to his request and convinced the president of the council that Thomas can tag along the next meeting. However, he received strict instructions: Stay in the back and look out for any potential dangers and act upon them if necessary. In other words: he was to accompany him as his bodyguard only and not speak up, no matter the situation. Plus James gave him a potion that was supposed to hide his scent from the vampires for at least a day. His master wanted to avoid commotion at all costs. This whole ordeal was to show Thomas that there was no action necessary and everything was going as it should be.

Thomas was not so happy about needing to stay quiet, but was willing to take that sacrifice if it meant finally getting a real insight into how the vampire council worked. This was definitely something he could use to prove that there were vampires out there who wanted a change. He just needed to see it with his own eyes first. Gather all the information before passing anything on to his friends and check what proof they needed in order to go on and possibly convince their boss about an association with the council. Or at least that was what Thomas was hoping for. He was sure that both parties had their own strength, but if they were to contribute, it would not only change history, but also finally provide the actual means towards the peace they all desired.

What he did not expect was that the council had its own rules. One of them being having smaller and bigger meetings. The aim of the smaller meetings was to raise different ideas within the more influential vampires for discussion first, which would then be passed for voting when the bigger meeting was called upon. They called this “audience” the Congress. And this was exactly one of the things James was hoping to get across. To show Thomas that even if Hamilton had some strong views and a loud mouth, he still required the approval of the other members of the Congress, which meant that James’ party still had a winning chance in certain matters.

However, being aware of the dangers of taking Thomas in between several vampires - even with his scent covered up - James chose to take his bodyguard to one of the smaller meetings instead for the time being. It was still a good chance to introduce the young male to the influential members of the council and how their system worked. Plus the members of this group were less likely to raise too many questions about the presence of James’ bodyguard. They were more concerned about the agenda and their current issues. Especially since Hamilton himself, apparently, was usually accompanied by his partner, who also had his contribution, but during these small meetings only.

The meeting was organised at George Washington’s mansion. The place itself radiated power and there were at least 5 maids assisting them along their journey to the meeting hall - two greeting them and taking their jackets, one leading the way, one asking if they needed anything she should get by the meeting and one opening the door upon their arrival.

The meeting hall itself was gigantic. It seemed like a ball room was redesigned for the purposes of these political meetings with all the rows of elevated seats and tables. At the moment, there weren’t too many occupant though.

One was a shorter man with light brown hair that looked like the guy was seeing a barber from the 1800s; another shorter, but bulkier man with a shoulder-length wavy auburn hair; one taller man whose shoulder-length dark brown hair was tied back in a ponytail; and one who was shockingly similar to James Madison himself. Was Thomas missing something here?

All of them were dressed professionally in suits and due to his previous training, Thomas recognised them all except for the last man. John Jay, Benjamin Franklin and James Monroe. Who the James lookalike was was something even Thomas wanted to know.

The last man in the room was none other than George Washington himself. Even Thomas knew about his influence and power in the vampire community. And now that he was standing this close to him - well as close as those 10 metres counted from the centre of the room - he started to realise why. The stance of the old vampire was something that demanded respect on its own and his eyes spoke of centuries of experience. Thomas wasn’t sure how old Washington was exactly to be fair, but he heard that he was alive when the first king of the vampires was elected. Which was waaaaaay back in time. But good news for Thomas, James has warned Washington about him tagging along, so at least the president himself had no issue with the situation. He seemed quite calm about it. Suspiciously calm…

He was quite lost in thought, trying to take in all the new faces and space, so he didn’t really pay much attention while his master greeted all of the members and introduced Thomas before any questions were raised about his presence. These steps were just simple formalities and at least his conscious was present enough to greet the vampires himself when it was his turn to do so. He knew their identities already anyway, except for….

Just as they were finally about to greet the mysterious guy who looked to be related to James, a young and shorter male bursted into the room. His appearance was quite heaved, as if he just ran the marathon before coming to the meeting. His green jacket was dangling halfway off his shoulder and his shoulder-length dark brown hair was a complete mess. However, his dark brown eyes as he looked up to the others in the room were quite captivating. Despite his next words and appearance, his expression still showed complete confidence.

“I’m truly sorry about being late. We had some trouble at home that needed attending to.”

“Mr Hamilton, it’s nice to see that you managed to make it in time. But where is Mr Laurens? I thought he was coming with you.” was the response from George Washington.

“Philip wasn’t feeling too well today, so someone needed to stay home with him. John will be unable to attend the meeting today, but he did ask me to bring his report over, so we are not going to miss his progress on the case.”

Even if he didn’t really know what they were talking about at the time, the name did ring a bell to Thomas. So he leaned closer to James and whispered so only he could hear him. “Isn’t Laurens the guy who helped you out from the bar that night?”

“Yes. But he is also part of the council.” was the short response. Both of them knew that vampires had extraordinary hearing and that they needed to keep their conversation to the absolute minimum. Even if most of the audience was concentrating on Washington and Hamilton’s discussion at the moment.

So this was the renowned Alexander Hamilton. He was shorter than Thomas expected. Plus based on what James said about the guy, he had the feeling that he would be faced with someone extremely professional and being there before even the president showed up. In his own mansion! But apparently Hamilton was the exact opposite of that. Or maybe he was judging him too early…

Overall, he did not look intimidating at all though.

After they all took their respective seats, Thomas lost interest in the whole session quite quickly. He got what James was grumbling about before. The Hamilton guy did have trouble shutting up. After just 30 minutes, it was clear that he liked to go into too much detail. But Thomas was certain that it was part of his strategy. Confuse his audience with all the information, until they get so lost, they just took the key words in. Which, if placed properly, will convince them to support his ideals.

Too bad Thomas was not someone who liked to listen to some wannabe geniuses like that. He needed to admit, Hamilton had some good points, but his reasoning was wrong at just too many places. But he promised James he was going to shut up and not cause trouble or raise unnecessary attention. He was only there to observe what a meeting like this was about.

And all was going well… As in quiet as normal, with no one daring to open their mouth against the president’s right hand man. James actually was getting relieved that things were coming to a close and that Thomas indeed managed to get through the whole meeting while laying low in the background.

_Until…_

“And that is why humans cannot be trusted to implement these new policies. It would completely be up to us, vampires to guide them through these changes.” concluded Hamilton, not realising the storm he was just about to release.

A storm called Thomas Jefferson.

“Excuse me?! What the actual fuck do you mean by that? Just who do you think you are judging humans like that? How do you know what they are capable of without even giving it a try first?”

“Thomas.” hissed James, but the damage was already done. The young male was not going to step down and Alexander himself looked at the human with a raised eyebrow.

“And you are?”

“Someone who has audacity to tell you when you are wrong. And I’m sorry to say this, but let me enlighten you: you, sir, are dumb.” was the bold and confident response from Thomas, who now even stepped forward from his position.

Hamilton was dumbfounded to say the least. “Excuse me?”

“Don’t tell me you are deaf as well. I said: You. are. dumb.”

It wasn’t Hamilton only, but most of the vampires now either looked at the two with an astonished expression or started to whisper among each other. Except for the president himself.

“Mr Madison, what is the meaning of this?”

James knew his place, so he got up from his chair and bowed apologetically. “I am sorry sir. We will take our leave right now.”

“What-?” started Thomas, but was actually interrupted by Washington.

“Don’t get me wrong Mr Madison. I’m not asking you to leave, I am just simply curious who your friend is. I thought he was just your bodyguard, but apparently he has more potential in him than that. And I am also interested to know why he would call Mr Hamilton dumb.” he explained, with the slightest of a smile at the edge of his lips. But the president was not someone to show expression openly on a meeting. His amusement was already clear to the young hunter, however, which led to an even more confident grin from his part as he turned towards the old vampire.

“Thomas Jefferson, at your service, sir. And the reason why I called Mr Hamilton dumb is because it’s the truth and I am an honest person.”

“And care to explain why you would say that?” Alexander was sitting in his chair now, with a sulky expression, arms crossed over his chest. It was easy to think he was a child, but knowing that no one had the guts to oppose him before, Thomas was not surprised that he managed to catch him off guard. And it had the added effect from a clear insult.

“Easy. You think that humans would not be capable of implementing your ideas once the chance arises. Claiming that they are too vulnerable and are threatened by the vampires to accept what they ask them for. But did you think about the fact that it would just cause even more disturbance and that the tables might turn again if you were to try and force your ideals on them? Or the fact that some vampires might not be able to fight their instincts and actually end up killing people? You would be back to square one.”

“You say it as if you knew everything about them. How could we trust your word? Your are just a lapdog, following Madison around. Who, let me tell you, should also just stay home on his sickbed instead of slowing us down here.”

And that was the last straw for Thomas. He had his gun strapped to his side under his vest. It would have taken a few seconds only. To have a bullet pierce through the wall right besides Alexander’s head as a warning and shut him up. His hand - even if hidden from sight - was already on the grip, but just as he was about to lift the weapon out from under this vest, Washington spoke up.

“That’s enough. I think a brief recess is in order. When we are back, I hope that any childish insults can be put aside and that we can concentrate on the real matter at hand.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Before anyone raises the question, yes, Philip is the adopted son of Hamilton and Laurens in this story. More will be explained later as he is actually a really important part of the story~ 
> 
> Also, this is the longest chapter in the story so far, yay! I didn't intend for this to get so long and actually was hoping to get more content in, but got so much inspiration while writing, I just needed to cut it off here for now. I hope that you all liked it, see you in the next chapter ❤️


	12. Author's note

Hi everyone!  
I think AO3 is having technical difficulties again or something... I hope you are going to at least see this as it seems the notifications are not getting out again and the new chapter is not visible to everyone/story did not get to the updated state. Can you actually see the new chapter that was uploaded 3 days ago or do I need to re-upload this again?  
If this keeps happening, I will try and come up with a plan for you to let's say upload a new chapter every Friday or something like that, so you will at least know when to look out for them... I don't know what's happening!!! :'(


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